Associations of self-compassion and resilience with help-seeking among Chinese athletes: the mediating role of self-stigma and sex differences

Introduction Mental health problems are prevalent among athletes. However, the utilization of professional psychological services remains remarkably low. Although behavioral intention to help-seeking (BI-HS) is a critical precursor to actual help-seeking behavior and serves as a protective factor for mental health, little is known about how personal coping resources are associated with BI-HS among athletes, nor about the potential psychological mechanisms underlying these associations. The present study examined the associations between personal coping resources (self-compassion and resilience) and BI-HS, and further tested the mediating role of self-stigma of help-seeking (SSHS) in these relationships. Sex differences in the proposed model were also investigated. Methods A total of 684 Chinese athletes participated in the study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group SEM analyses were conducted. Results The findings indicated that both self-compassion and resilience were positively associated with BI-HS. SEM analyses further demonstrated that SSHS significantly mediated the relationships between self-compassion and BI-HS, as well as between resilience and BI-HS. Moreover, multi-group SEM analyses revealed a significant sex difference: the effect of SSHS on BI-HS was significant among male athletes but not among female athletes. Conclusions These findings suggest that personal coping resources may enhance athletes' BI-HS partly by reducing self-stigma, with this mechanism being particularly salient for male athletes. Interventions aimed at fostering self-compassion and resilience while addressing SSHS may be especially effective in promoting BI-HS among athletes, especially males.