Mental Health and Psychosocial Concerns among Student-Athletes: Reflections from the Indonesian Context

This Letter to the Editor responds to Kruger’s (2025) study on mental health and psychosocial concerns among South African student-athletes. We argue that the study offers an important contribution by demonstrating that student-athletes are not insulated from psychological vulnerability despite their association with discipline, physical strength, and achievement. Building on this contribution, we highlight its relevance to Indonesia, where student-athletes may similarly experience overlapping pressures related to academic demands, training schedules, competition, institutional expectations, and family aspirations. We note that existing Indonesian studies have identified anxiety among student-athletes, but most remain limited to competitive anxiety and do not yet address broader psychosocial concerns such as stress, sleep disturbance, stigma, disordered eating, substance use, and institutional support. We therefore support calls for routine mental health screening and professional psychological support, while emphasizing the need for more comprehensive and culturally responsive systems of student-athlete care in Indonesia and other Global South settings. Such systems should integrate mental health literacy, confidential referral pathways, academic flexibility, and support for the dual demands of study and sport.