Exploring Mental Health Experiences in Professional Cricket

虽然职业板球中的心理健康已经受到了公众的广泛关注，但目前还缺乏关于职业板球中心理健康的实证研究和权威数据(McCabe等人，2021年)。板球是一项注重不犯错误和不容忍失败的运动，职业比赛的职业生涯与极端的高潮和低谷有关，远离家人的时间很长，个人对表现的关注得到加强，这是一个独特的组合，有可能影响球员职业生涯的心理健康。职业板球职业的独特性质使心理健康成为研究人员和更广泛的板球多学科团队探索的一个重要领域(McCabe等人，2021年)。因此，迄今为止的研究突出表明，需要收集关于职业板球心理健康的更严格的证据，以便能够设计、实施和评估专门针对板球的支持和干预方案(McCabe等人，2021年；Vella等人，2020年)。因此，我们的研究项目将通过调查职业板球中心理健康的经历、障碍和促进者来补充现有的文献。然后，该项目将能够为主要的板球利益攸关方(例如，县、PCA、英格兰和威尔士板球委员会和国际板球理事会)制定建议、政策指导方针和实际干预措施。因此，我们的研究项目的两个主要目标是：(1)探索职业板球中心理健康的经历、障碍和促进者，(2)提供和评估职业板球中的组织性心理健康干预。首先，一项横断面研究将通过发现心理健康对运动中的关键利益相关者(例如，首席执行官、板球总监、PCA/ECB/开放项目负责人、球员、教练、理疗师、医生、心理学家、学院教练和球员)意味着什么，来定义英国男性和女性职业板球特定而独特的背景下的心理健康。第二项研究将探索职业板球运动员的心理健康经历，导致这些经历的关键障碍和促进者，以及这些障碍和促进者在整个赛季中普遍存在的情况。第二项研究将使用定性的纵向方法，包括对一组球员的重复采访，以跟踪他们的心理健康经历，以及是什么导致这些经历在典型的板球赛季的过程中发生变化。在研究1和2的基础上，第三项研究将检验和评估提供组织干预的有效性、有效性和实用性，以保护和提高职业板球运动员在职业生涯中的心理健康，并减少围绕心理健康和职业板球求助的污名。总体而言，我们的项目将建立一个关于职业板球心理健康的有价值的证据基础，从中可以向关键的利益相关者和组织提供建议、政策指导和干预。参考McCabe，T.，Peirce，N.，Gorczynski，P.，&Heron，N.(2021)。板球运动中精神疾病的叙述性回顾和心理健康支持的建议。《英国医学杂志》公开运动与锻炼医学，7(1)，e000910。Https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000910Vella，S.，Swann，C.，&Tamminen，K.(2020年)。对体育运动中心理健康领域的思考：关键问题和前进的途径。应用运动心理学杂志，33(1)，123-129。Https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1854898

While mental health in professional cricket has received lots of public attention, presently, there is a lack of empirical research and definitive data around mental health in the professional game (McCabe et al., 2021). Cricket is a game that places a premium on not making mistakes and the intolerance of failure, and a career in the professional game is one associated with extreme highs and lows, extensive time away from family and an enhanced individual focus on performance which is a unique combination that has the potential to impact players mental health across their career. The unique nature of a career in professional cricket makes mental health an important area of exploration for researchers and the wider cricket multidisciplinary teams (McCabe et al., 2021). Hence, research to date has highlighted the need to collect more rigorous evidence around mental health in professional cricket to be able to design, implement and evaluate cricket specific support and intervention programmes (McCabe et al., 2021; Vella et al., 2020). Therefore, our research project will add to the extant literature by investigating the experiences, barriers, and facilitators of mental health in professional cricket. The project will then enable the development of recommendations, policy guidelines and practical interventions for key cricket stakeholders (e.g., Counties, PCA, England and Wales Cricket Board, and International Cricket Council). Hence, the two main aims of our research project are to: (1) to explore the experiences, barriers, and facilitators of mental health in professional cricket, (2) deliver and evaluate an organisational mental health intervention in professional cricket.To achieve these aims our project will comprise three studies. First, a cross-sectional study will define mental health in the specific, unique context of UK male and female professional cricket through discovering what it means to the key stakeholders within the game (e.g., CEO's, Directors of cricket, Heads of the PCA/ECB/Opening up, Players, Coaches, Physios, Doctors, Psychologists, Academy coaches and Players). The second studywill explore professional cricketer's experiences of mental health, the key barriers and facilitators that lead to those experiences and when these barriers and facilitators are prevalent across the course of a season. This second study will use a qualitative, longitudinal approach including repeated interviews with a group of players to track their mental health experiences and what leads to these experiences changing across the course of a typical cricket season. Building on from studies 1 and 2, the third study will examine and evaluate the effectiveness, efficacy, and practicalities of delivering an organisational intervention, to protect and enhance professional cricketer's mental health during their career and reduce the stigma around mental health and help-seeking in professional cricket.Overall, our project will build a valuable evidence base around mental health in professional cricket, from which, recommendations, policy guidance, and interventions can be provided to key stakeholders and organisations.ReferencesMcCabe, T., Peirce, N., Gorczynski, P., & Heron, N. (2021). Narrative review of mental illness in cricket with recommendations for mental health support. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 7(1), e000910. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000910Vella, S., Swann, C., & Tamminen, K. (2020). Reflections on the Field of Mental Health in Sport: Critical Issues and Ways of Moving Forward. Journal Of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(1), 123-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1854898