Effects Of Covid-19 Sports Disruptions On Social-emotional Status Of High School Student-athletes

During the COVID-19 pandemic high school student-athletes were faced with numerous disruptions to their sport, including fewer scheduled competitions, fewer in-person training sessions, and cancelled competitions. Consequently, these disruptions may have had a negative impact on their mental health and well-being. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of sports disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the social-emotional well-being of high school student-athletes. METHODS: An anonymous online survey was distributed to 2068 high school student-athletes during the 2020-2021 academic year. The survey instrument included basic demographics, specific sports season information and personal or team quarantine disruptions. The Sports Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ) was also distributed as part of the electronic survey, with its five domains used as the dependent variables to assess emotions related to the specific sport season. RESULTS: Of the 125 completed questionnaires, 28 (22.4%) student-athletes reported being personally quarantined, 77 (61.6%) reported a team member being quarantined, and 23 (18.4%) reported not being able to complete their season. Multivariate linear regression revealed student-athletes quarantined during their athletic season experienced greater dejection (β = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.27-1.28, p = 0.003) and greater anger (β = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.24-1.32, p = 0.005) compared to those that were not. Those with a teammate quarantined experienced more anxiety (β = 0.30, 95% CI: 0-0.61, p = 0.048) compared to those that did not as presented in Table 1. CONCLUSION: Student-athletes who were directly affected by COVID-19 restrictions, experienced more anxiety, dejection, and anger regarding their sport compared to student-athletes who were not quarantined, did not have teammates quarantined, or those whose sport seasons were disrupted. Supported by Mayo Clinic Department of Family Medicine.