Hypothesis: Sports psychology and life coaching can help athletes learn stress management techniques such as relaxation techniques, visualization, and cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce stress and anxiety which can help them to avoid turning to substances as a coping mechanism

1. https://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1153&context=mcnair

Background: This study provides insight of why so many athletes turn to drug abuse during their careers. A specific type of drug that is discussed are PED’s (performance enhancement drugs), and how athletes do not just use them to gain an unfair advantage, but to help cope with the amount of pressure athletes can face.

How I intend to use it: Most people see PED’s as just a say for athletes to cheat, but I will use this article to sort of flip the script, and show that it can be used as a coping mechanism. I will also use this article to discuss the accessibility athletes have to drugs. I think PED’s are a good drug to talk about since there are many times athletes have used them, and athletes have been using them for some time now. With this article I can also talk about use Alex Rodriguez as an example of a world class athlete who used PED’s to cope with pressure he faced, instead of just using them to cheat.

2. https://www.michaelshouse.com/drug-abuse/injury-concerns-abuse-athletes/

Background: This article talks about proscribed drugs that athletes can be given and how athletes can become addicted to them. If an athlete does become addicted it normally happens after an injury. This article also briefly talks about how young athletes can also become addicted to prescribed drugs, along with professionals. This can help show that drug abuse can happen in athletes of a wide age range. It gives examples of athletes who dealt with addiction to prescribed drugs, also talks about how addiction can happen during, and after a athletes career.

How I intend to use it: I will use this article to discuss another aspect of drugs athletes can become addicted to. I will also use this information to talk about specific professional athletes to help provide more insight of what they actually go to if they become addicted to proscribed drugs. This article will also help me explain how the pressure athletes face can come from the teams they play for.

3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0492-2

Background: This article reviews the mental health and well-being of athletes. Some aspects that can cause disorders are things like injuries and retirement. This is interesting because injuries can be avoidable, to an extent, but every single athlete will retire at some point in their careers.

How I intend to use it: This article will help me go into more depth of how injuries can not only affect a athlete physically, but also emotionally. I can also bring in a new circumstance that can affect mental health in athletes, with the dealing of retirement.

4. https://achieveconcierge.com/blog/the-link-between-athletes-and-depression/

Background: This article discusses depression among student athletes. The article uses statistics to show the rates of depression in student athletes compared to students who do not play a sport. It is found that since student athletes face higher amounts of pressure, it can also cause higher amounts of stress and are more likely to become depressed. This article also goes into how having performance issues can cause depression.

How I intend to use it: I will use this article to provide background on depression among student athletes. I want to show that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional athlete or a student athlete, they can both suffer from depression. With this article I can talk about a new circumstance that can cause stress and depression, which is having performance issues. Having performance issues can cause extreme stress in all types of athletes because that is their passion/job. So if they are having issues performing well it can mean they will lose an opportunity, or under extreme measures, their job.

5. https://alcoholrehabhelp.org/blog/athletes-alcoholism/

Background: This article goes over the many aspects of alcohol addiction in athletes. It gives statistics regarding alcohol abuse and athletes, why athletes turn to alcohol and how it can affect the way they play. It also gets into alcohol abuse among student athletes. For the student athletes, it gives solutions for parents and teachers to use to help their young athletes.

How I intend to use it: This article gives me the opportunity to talk about another substance athletes can abuse in alcohol. And since alcohol is a easy substance to obtain I feel it is important to talk about the problems facing alcoholism in athletes. I will also use this article to talk about a variation of alcohol abuse which is binge drinking, and the many negative affects it can have on student athletes.