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Mental health literacy (MHL) refers to the knowledge and beliefs of mental disorders that facilitate their recognition, management, and prevention. Growing attention has focused on improving coach MHL as an avenue to better support athlete mental health. However, there are inconsistencies as to how coach MHL has been studied in organized sport. A scoping review was conducted to synthesize conceptual frameworks and measurement tools used in coach MHL research, along with predictors and outcomes associated with coach MHL. A comprehensive search strategy yielded 25 studies eligible for review. There were variable applications of conceptual frameworks used to study coach MHL. Measurement approaches also varied with studies assessing global or disorder-specific mental health knowledge, as well as qualitative evaluations of perceived mental health knowledge. Predictors of coach MHL were organized into four categories: mental health training, personal characteristics, coaching characteristics, and mental health experiences and attitudes. Outcomes of coach MHL were organized into three categories: attitudes towards mental health and help-seeking, intentions to support athlete mental health, and self-reported supportive mental health behaviors. Future research could benefit from a MHL organizing framework, enhanced rigor in measurement and study design, and examining a broader array of constructs tied to coach MHL.
Worley et al. (Thu,) studied this question.