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Date of Award
Spring 2025
Rights
Access restricted for 5 years to EWU users with an active EWU NetID
Date Available to Non-EWU Users
2030-09-15
Document Type
Thesis: EWU Only
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS) in Wellness and Movement Sciences
Department
Wellness and Movement Sciences
Abstract
"Abstract Mental health issues such as depression and stress can negatively impact female student-athletes. Prior research has not purposefully explored the differences in depression and stress levels between physically active female college students and female student-athletes. PURPOSE: To determine the differences in depression and perceived stress levels between NCAA Division I female collegiate athletes and non-athlete, physically active female college students. METHODS: Female student-athletes (n = 27) and physically active female non-athletes (n = 33) completed an online survey that included the Patient Health Questionnaire to assess the presence of depressive symptoms, the Perceived Stress Scale to assess recent feelings of stress, as well as demographics questions. Differences in summed depression and stress scores between student athletes and physically active non-athletes were compared with independent samples t-tests (α = .05). RESULTS: Female physically active non-athletes (2.53 ± 0.84) reported significantly higher depression scores when compared to female collegiate athletes (2.10 ± 0.88; p = .03). No significant difference was found between perceived stress in female physically active non- athletes (17.29 ± 5.42) and female collegiate athletes (15.36 ± 4.98; p = .09). CONCLUSIONS: Female non-athletes had significantly higher scores on the PHQ-9, indicating higher severity of depression symptoms compared to athletes. However, there were no significant differences in stress levels between athletes and non-athletes. Overall, our current results demonstrate exercise as being protective against depression; however, the type of exercise may influence the extent of its protective effects.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
McKenzie, Alyssa, "Differences in stress and depression in female student-athletes and physically active non-athletes: comparing mental health in active collegiate women" (2025). EWU Masters Thesis Collection. 1020.
https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/1020
