Background: The benefits of sport in mental health have been broadly studied. However, few studies have examined these outcomes in high-performance athletes. We aimed to analyze the state of the mental health of the Villarreal Soccer Club's first- (FD) and second-division (SD) players and the possible mediating effects of sex and professional category.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with an initial sample of 108 soccer players (final sample n = 54). Data from MINI, HARS, HDRS, BARRAT-11 and SCSRQ questionnaires were analyzed.
Results: The mean age was 23.41 years (SD = 4.56) and 61.1% (n = 33) were men. A proportion of 24.1% (n = 13) stated that they had undergone mental health treatment, 7.4% (n = 4) had taken psychotropic drugs, and 2.1% (n = 1) had made a suicide attempt. Differences were observed between the FD and SD players in terms of the sensitivity to punishment (t = -2.2; p = 0.033), overall impulsivity (t = -3.1; p = 0.003), unplanned impulsivity (t = 3.4; p = 0.001), and the HDRS (U = -110.5; p = 0.004), HARS-Total (U = -104.0; p = 0.006) and HARS-Psychological subscale scores (U = -104.0; p = 0.001). Differences were also observed between the female and male SD players for the HARS-Somatic subscale (U = 136.5; p = 0.028).
Conclusion: The low values obtained in the clinical scales, together with the reported psychopathological histories, suggested that the Villareal players showed better mental health than the general population.
Keywords: anxiety; depression; football; high-performance athletes; mental illness.