MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF ATHLETES: INTEGRATING PSYCHOLOGY INTO SPORT SCIENCE EDUCATION

Abstract

This purpose of this study was to find out the Mental health and well-being of Athletes.The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study consisted of 244 student athletes of the university of Benin. The sample size of the study was made up of 98 student athletes. The validity of the study was ascertained by the researchers's supervisor and two other experts in the Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Science, all from the University of Benin. The Cronbach alpha statistics was used to establish the reliability and a reliability index of 0.671 was obtained indicating that the instrument was reliable. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentages for the respondent demographic data, while mean and standard deviation will be used in the data analysis of the hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that Integrating psychological principles into sports science education will affect athletes’ mental resilience and coping mechanisms by improving athletes’ ability to manage stress, fostering a positive mindset among athletes and helping athletes maintain focus and concentration during competition.  It was concluded that integrating psychology into sports science education will improve the mental health and overall well-being of student athletes in the university of Benin. It was therefore recommended that student athletes should be educated about psychological resilience as this will help them cope better with the psychological stressors associated with injuries.