Mental health in junior ice hockey : A quantitative study on how experiental avoidance and social support predicts symptoms of mental health issues

The purpose of this study was to (1) investigate the prevalence of the symptoms of mental health issues in depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties for professional junior ice hockey players and (2) to investigate if experiential avoidance and social supportpredict mental health issues in depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties for professional junior ice hockey players. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed, and data were collected through digital questionnaires including self-reported measures of all study variables. The study includes 429 active male ice hockey players playing for J20aged 15-26 years (M = 17.26, SD = 1.205). The results showed prevalence levels for depression (M = 0.45, SD = 0.05), anxiety (M = 0.48, SD = 0.51), sleep difficulties (M = 0.58, SD = 0.11). Further showed the results that higher levels of experiential avoidance was a significant predictor for all variables. Higher levels of avoidance was associated with higher levels of symptoms of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties. No significant associations were found for social support. Finally, the present study contributes to valuable research om the mental health of elite athletes,