Can We Talk? Exploring the Effects of Mental Health Stigma, Support, and Openness on National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Mental Health

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) student athletes may have more stigmatic views toward mental health (MH) and be less open to talking about or seeking support for MH struggles than their peers. This may contribute to and/or exacerbate existing MH challenges. This cross-sectional study explored the impact of MH stigma, support, and openness on student athletes’ levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among 478 NCAA student athletes representing 20 different sports from 56 universities. Results indicated that male, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and Division I athletes reported higher levels of MH stigma. Compared with their White peers, BIPOC athletes exhibited less openness to talk about MH challenges. Division I and BIPOC athletes felt less supported to seek help for MH concerns. Structural equation modeling showed that MH stigma was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas MH openness was negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Research/practical implications, limitations, and future research and athletic department programming needs are discussed.