Examining the dual continua model of mental health in student-athletes

The Dual Continua Model (DCM) views mental health and mental illness as two separate but related constructs. The current study was designed to assess the factor structure and concurrent validity of this DCM with an intercollegiate sport sample. The 2022 Canadian cohort (N = 345; 65% female) of the National College Health Assessment completed the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the Kessler K6, the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of obliquely related factors of mental health and illness showed strong fit of the model to the data (CFI = 0.997; RMSEA = 0.027). ANOVAs comparing different sub-groups within the DCM showed that resilience and loneliness differed among groups according to their levels of mental health and/or illness in manners consistent with the model.