Potentially Prolonged Psychological Distress from Postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games during COVID-19—Career Uncertainty in Elite Athletes

Anders Håkansson, Karin Moesch, Caroline Jönsson and Göran Kenttä
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Anders Håkansson: Depterment of Clinical Sciences Lund, Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, S-22100 Lund, Sweden
Karin Moesch: Region Skåne, Malmö Addiction Center, Clinical Sports and Mental Health Unit, S-20502 Malmö, Sweden
Caroline Jönsson: Region Skåne, Malmö Addiction Center, Clinical Sports and Mental Health Unit, S-20502 Malmö, Sweden
Göran Kenttä: Swedish Sports Confederation, 114 33 Stockholm, Sweden

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 18, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the world of sports due to periods of home quarantine, bans against public gatherings, travel restrictions, and a large number of postponed or canceled major sporting events. The literature hitherto is sparse, but early indications display signs of psychological impact on elite athletes due to the pandemic. However, beyond acute effects from lockdown and short-term interrupted athletic seasons, the postponed and still uncertain Olympic and Paralympic Games may represent a major career insecurity to many athletes world-wide, and may lead to severe changes to everyday lives and potentially prolonged psychological distress. Given the long-term perspective of these changes, researchers and stakeholders should address mental health and long-term job insecurity in athletes, including a specific focus on those with small financial margins, such as many female athletes, parasports athletes, athletes in smaller sports, and athletes from developing countries. Implications and the need for research are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; elite athlete; Olympic games; Paralympic games; psychological distress; sports psychology; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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