Association of mental health help-seeking with mental health-related knowledge and stigma in Japan Rugby Top League players.

Background: Globally increasing clinical and research interests are driving a movement to promote understanding and practice of mental health in elite athletes. However, few studies have yet addressed this issue. This study aims to describe the association of the intention to seek help with mental health knowledge and stigma and the severity of depressive symptoms in Japan Rugby Top League players.
Methods: As a target population, we studied 233 Japan Rugby Top League male players (25-29 years = 123 [52.8%]), who were born in Japan, using a cross-sectional design. Surveys were conducted using anonymous, web-based self-administered questionnaires. Structural equation modelling was performed to evaluate the hypothesis of an interrelationship between mental health knowledge, stigma, and severity of depressive symptoms as factors influencing the intention to seek help.
Results: Players with more severe depressive symptoms were more reluctant to seek help from others (β = - 0.20, p = 0.03). Players with greater knowledge about mental health tended to have less stigma toward others with mental health problems (β = 0.13, p = 0.049), but tended not to seek help with their own mental health problems.
Conclusions: Rugby players in need of mental health support, even with greater knowledge, tend not to seek help from others, while having less stigma toward people with mental health problems. Rugby players might require approaches other than a knowledge-based educational approach to encourage them to seek help.
Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: The TOYOTA foundation provided financial support in the form of a Co-Creating New Society with Advanced Technologies grant. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.