Upstate South Carolina Mental Health and Sport Initiative: Contributing Solutions to the Mental Health Crisis Via Improvement of Mental Health Literacy Among Adults in Youth Sport Communities

This study contributed solutions to the youth mental health crisis by providing effective options for mental health awareness training (MHAT) that can be utilized in youth sport for increasing mental health literacy (MHL) among adults. Widely implementing MHAT has the potential to improve youth mental health status through increased help-seeking behaviors by adults. This study first evaluated whether mental health status and MHL are correlated in a youth sport setting with significant results indicating that investing time and resources into MHAT is worthwhile. Next, two MHAT modules were evaluated to determine their effectiveness for increasing MHL among this audience, i.e., one well-established (Mental Health First Aid - MHFA) and one new (ACT! Mental Health Awareness Certification) program. Results indicated that both MHAT courses effectively increased MHL and its factor of knowledge about mental health, meaning they each could be considered by sport organizers for implementation among adults within their organizations. There were not significant differences found between the effectiveness of MHFA and ACT!, indicating that the newly developed 2-hour ACT! Certification performed just as well as the well-established 8-hour MHFA course and provides a promising new option that may be more viable for wide implementation. Neither MHAT module significantly changed outcomes of attitudes toward mental health. The results from this study indicate that MHAT may be a great addition to training offered through youth sport organizations for improving MHL. Further, it has validated a new MHAT course, the ACT! Certification, that should be considered for wide implementation by sport practitioners.