Edge Hill University in association with DOCIAsport and supported by the Sport and Recreation Alliance
1,201 respondents (51% male; 49% female; 0.4% other) aged 16+ working in over 50 roles across more than 50 sports and activities completed the Sport and Physical Activity Workforce Mental Health (SPAWMH) survey between 10 October 2018 and 31 December 2018.
- Ever experienced mental illness
- Currently experience mental illness
- Support for mental health
- Spotlight
- About the respondents
Ever experienced mental illness
Ever experienced mental illness:
57%
of all respondents
| 51% | 64% |
56%
of heterosexual respondents
| 625 people |
73%
of gay men or gay women/lesbian
| 30 people |
79%
of those who identified as bisexual
| 19 people |
Those working in:
63%
Activity / Lifestyle / Recreation
59%
Grassroots / Community Sport
55%
Education
52%
High Performance Sport
Most commonly reported mental illnesses ever experienced:
All respondents
- Anxiety (71%)
- Depression (68%)
- Panic disorders (14%)
- Self-harm (12%)
- PTSD (11%)
- OCD (8%)
- Substance use disorders (including alcohol) (7%)
Male respondents
- Depression (73%)
- Anxiety (65%)
- PTSD (10%)
- Substance use disorders (including alcohol) (9%)
- Panic disorders (9%)
- OCD (8%)
- Self-harm (7%)
Female respondents
- Anxiety (75%)
- Depression (64%)
- Panic disorders (18%)
- Self-harm (15%)
- PTSD (11%)
- OCD (8%)
- Anorexia nervosa (8%)
- Bulimia nervosa (7%)
Gender and age-related differences in experience of mental illness
| Age | Male respondents | Males ever experienced mental illness | Males currently experience mental illness* | Female respondents | Females ever experienced mental illness | Females currently experience mental illness* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 57 | 36 (63%) | 11 (31%) | 98 | 69 (70%) | 37 (54%) |
| 25-34 | 139 | 72 (52%) | 32 (44%) | 163 | 119 (73%) | 57 (48%) |
| 35-44 | 136 | 73 (54%) | 37 (51%) | 145 | 92 (63%) | 30 (33%) |
| 45-59 | 195 | 93 (48%) | 36 (39%) | 149 | 78 (52%) | 24 (31%) |
| 60+ | 79 | 34 (43%) | 5 (15%) | 35 | 19 (54%) | 2 (11%) |
* Of those who have ever experienced mental illness
Currently experience mental illness
Currently experience mental illness:
23%
of all respondents
| 20% | 26% |
40%
of those who had experienced mental illness
| 40% | 41% |
39%
of heterosexual respondents
43%
of gay men or gay women/lesbian
84%
of those who identified as bisexual
More
39% of heterosexual respondents currently experience mental illness, compared to 43% of gay men or gay women/lesbian and 84% of those who identified as bisexual (though the latter groups are based on low numbers).
Those working in:
45%
Grassroots / Community Sport
41%
Education
38%
Activity / Lifestyle / Recreation
37%
High Performance Sport
Most commonly reported mental illnesses currently experienced:
All respondents
- Anxiety (74%)
- Depression (56%)
- PTSD (9%)
- Panic disorders (8%)
- OCD (7%)
- Self-harm (7%)
- Substance use disorders (including alcohol) (3%)
Male respondents
- Anxiety (69%)
- Depression (66%)
- OCD (9%)
- PTSD (8%)
- Substance use disorders (including alcohol) (6%)
Female respondents
- Anxiety (79%)
- Depression (47%)
- Panic disorders (12%)
- Self-harm (10%)
- PTSD (9%)
- OCD (5%)
Mental illness experienced by others:
35%
of respondents personally knew of others in the same position as them in their organisation who currently experience a diagnosed mental illness, with three quarters of them suggesting they know 1-3 such people.
The most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses experienced by others who respondents personally knew:
- Anxiety (69%)
- Depression (66%)
- OCD (9%)
- PTSD (8%)
- Substance use disorders (including alcohol) (6%)
Currently experience mental illness:
Top 15 sports
| Sport | Number of Respondents | Ever experienced mental illness | Currently experience mental illness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football | 234 | 121 (52%) | 48 (40%) |
| Multi-sport | 225 | 118 (52%) | 54 (46%) |
| Athletics | 83 | 46 (55%) | 15 (33%) |
| Running | 79 | 48 (61%) | 13 (27%) |
| Rugby Union | 63 | 37 (59%) | 15 (41%) |
| Exercise and fitness | 51 | 35 (69%) | 15 (43%) |
| Triathlon | 50 | 30 (60%) | 10 (33%) |
| Golf | 35 | 19 (54%) | 6 (32%) |
| Swimming | 32 | 18 (56%) | 7 (39%) |
| Cycling | 25 | 16 (64%) | 6 (38%) |
| Cricket | 24 | 10 (42%) | 6 (60%) |
| Rugby League | 21 | 11 (52%) | 6 (55%) |
| Hockey | 19 | 15 (79%) | 3 (20%) |
| Climbing/mountaineering | 18 | 14 (78%) | 8 (57%) |
| Netball | 18 | 9 (50%) | 2 (22%) |
| Other | 53 | 38 (72%) | 16 (42%) |
Top 15 roles
| Role | Number of Respondents | Ever experienced mental illness | Currently experience mental illness* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | 202 | 111 (55%) | 49 (44%) |
| Administration/Secretary | 84 | 47 (56%) | 22 (47%) |
| Sport Therapist | 80 | 52 (65%) | 14 (27%) |
| Volunteer | 73 | 47 (64%) | 22 (47%) |
| Sports Development Officer | 71 | 41 (58%) | 15(37%) |
| Manager | 67 | 35 (52%) | 15 (43%) |
| Anti-Doping Officer | 61 | 24 (39%) | 4 (17%) |
| Programme Manager/Director | 60 | 33 (55%) | 16 (49%) |
| Athlete/Player | 58 | 33 (57%) | 13 (39%) |
| University Lecturer | 33 | 16 (49%) | 5 (31%) |
| Commercial/Marketing | 30 | 16 (53%) | 9 (56%) |
| Education and Welfare Officer | 29 | 12 (41%) | 7 (58%) |
| Chief Executive Officer | 25 | 13 (52%) | 3 (23%) |
| Programme Deliverer | 17 | 14 (82%) | 7 (50%) |
| Chair Person | 16 | 11 (69%) | 3 (27%) |
* Of those who have ever experienced mental illness
Gender and age-related differences in experience of mental illness
| Age | Male respondents | Males ever experienced mental illness | Males currently experience mental illness* | Female respondents | Females ever experienced mental illness | Females currently experience mental illness* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 57 | 36 (63%) | 11 (31%) | 98 | 69 (70%) | 37 (54%) |
| 25-34 | 139 | 72 (52%) | 32 (44%) | 163 | 119 (73%) | 57 (48%) |
| 35-44 | 136 | 73 (54%) | 37 (51%) | 145 | 92 (63%) | 30 (33%) |
| 45-59 | 195 | 93 (48%) | 36 (39%) | 149 | 78 (52%) | 24 (31%) |
| 60+ | 79 | 34 (43%) | 5 (15%) | 35 | 19 (54%) | 2 (11%) |
* Of those who have ever experienced mental illness
Support for mental health
Organisational practice, help-seeking and support for mental health
57%
preferred to receive mental health support from someone outside their organisation / workplace
More
25%
would like to receive support from someone inside and outside their organisation
5%
preferred to receive mental health support from someone inside their organisation
13%
didn’t know
46%
felt mental health and illness were taken seriously or very seriously by the leaders or managers of their organisation.
More
34%
felt they were taken somewhat seriously
20%
felt that the leaders or managers in their organisation did not take mental health and illness very seriously or not at all seriously
58%
said that it would be unlikely or very unlikely that other people in the same position as them would disclose their experience of mental illness to others
More
10%
felt it was very likely that other people in the same position as them would disclose their experience of mental illness to others in the organisation
25%
said it would be somewhat likely
46%
felt confident or very confident speaking to others in their organisation about their mental health
More
33%
felt neither confident nor unconfident
21%
felt unconfident or very unconfident
41%
felt confident or very confident discussing their own mental health with colleagues in their organisation
More
26%
felt neither confident nor unconfident
32%
felt unconfident or very unconfident
31%
had ever spoken about their mental health to someone in their organisation
More
59%
had never spoken to someone but had not needed to
10%
had never spoken to someone but would have liked to
17%
had ever received support for their mental health from someone in their organisation
More
53%
had never received support but did not need it
28%
had never received support but had not asked for support
2%
had asked for support but that support was not provided
34%
had ever received support for their mental health from someone in their organisation
66%
were not aware
54%
were not aware of any mental health support available to them in their organisation
46%
were aware
| Awareness of support provided by organisation | Respondents | Mental health support organisations should make available | Respondents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counselling | 61% | Healthy work-life balance | 44% |
| Flexible working | 54% | Counselling | 38% |
| Signposting to appropriate external services | 47% | Regular health checks | 36% |
| Healthy work-life balance | 43% | Signposting to appropriate external services | 33% |
| Occupational health/employee assistance programmes | 40% | Flexible working | 31% |
| Digital/online support | 19% | Occupational health/employee assistance programmes | 21% |
| Psychologist | 13% | Cognitive behaviour therapy | 20% |
| Regular health checks | 12% | Digital/online support | 18% |
| Cognitive behaviour therapy | 12% | Psychologist | 16% |
| Other | 7% | No support | 14% |
| Other | 6% |
Spotlight
Headline findings for coaches
Responses were received from 202 coaches (118 males; 84 females) who worked in over 30 sports or activities.
| Sector | Number of Respondents (n=202) | Males (n=118) | Females (n=84) |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-performance sport | 35 (17%) | 25 (71%) | 10 (29%) |
| Grassroots/community | 94 (47%) | 42 (45%) | 52 (55%) |
| Education | 19 (9%) | 12 (63%) | 7 (37%) |
| Activity/lifestyle/recreation | 40 (20%) | 25 (56%) | 15 (33%) |
| Ever experienced mental illness | 111 (55%) | 60 (51%) | 51 (61%) |
| High-performance sport | 16 (46%) | 11 (44%) | 5 (50%) |
| Grassroots/community | 63 (57%) | 28 (67%) | 35 (67%) |
| Education | 10 (53%) | 7 (58%) | 3 (43%) |
| Activity/lifestyle/recreation | 22 (55%) | 14 (56%) | 8 (53%) |
| Currently experience mental illness | 49 (44%) | 28 (47%) | 21 (41%) |
| High-performance sport | 6 (38%) | 3 (27%) | 2 (40%) |
| Grassroots/community | 35 (56%) | 17 (61%) | 16 (46%) |
| Education | 2 (20%) | 2 (29%) | 0 (0%) |
| Activity/lifestyle/recreation | 8 (27%) | 5 (36%) | 3 (38%) |
Top 5 sports in which coaches worked
| Sport | Male respondents | Males ever experienced mental illness | Males currently experience mental illness* | Female respondents | Females ever experienced mental illness | Females currently experience mental illness* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football | 17 | 10 (59%) | 5 (50%) | 11 | 8 (73%) | 3 (38%) |
| Athletics | 14 | 7 (50%) | 3 (43%) | 11 | 5 (46%) | 2 (40%) |
| Running | 13 | 8 (62%) | 4 (50%) | 10 | 5 (50%) | 0 (0%) |
| Swimming | 4 | 1 (25%) | 0 (0%) | 9 | 6 (67%) | 3 (50%) |
| Rugby union | 8 | 1 (13%) | 0 (0%) | 2 | 1 (50%) | 1 (100%) |
* Of those who have ever experienced mental illness
Age and coach experience of mental illness
| Age group | Male respondents | Males ever experienced mental illness | Males currently experience mental illness* | Female respondents | Females ever experienced mental illness | Females currently experience mental illness* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 7 | 5 (71%) | 3 (60%) | 10 | 7 (73%) | 4 (57%) |
| 25-34 | 23 | 11 (48%) | 6 (55%) | 18 | 13 (72%) | 9 (69%) |
| 35-44 | 23 | 12 (52%) | 7 (58%) | 26 | 17 (65%) | 6 (35%) |
| 45-59 | 47 | 23 (49%) | 11 (48%) | 26 | 10 (39%) | 1 (10%) |
| 60+ | 18 | 8 (44%) | 0 (0%) | 4 | 3 (75%) | 1 (33%) |
* Of those who have ever experienced mental illness
About the respondents
About the respondents
- Respondents were drawn from grassroots/community sport (30%), high performance sport (28%), activity/lifestyle/recreation (24%) and education (19%) sectors.
- 4% of respondents worked in England (990 people), 8% worked in Northern Ireland, 6% worked in Scotland and 4% worked in Wales.
- 3% identified themselves as heterosexual/straight (1,109 people), 3% as a gay woman/lesbian, 2% as Bisexual, 1% as a gay man, and 2% preferred not to say or self-described.
- The majority of respondents described their ethnic background as ‘White’: 68% were White British (815 people), 15% White English, 5% White Scottish, 4% White Irish, and 2% White Welsh.
- 8% (1,126 people) did not consider themselves to have a disability, 5% were disabled (39% learning disability/difficulty, 38% physical disability, 21% hearing impairment, 16% visual impairment) and 1% preferred not to say.
Find out more
View our MSc Sport, Physical Activity and Mental Health programme, other courses and our sport and mental health work on our Everton in the Community pages.
For more information about this project, please contact Professor Andy Smith (Andy.Smith@edgehill.ac.uk).