Sarah Brown, news editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, joins Cheddar News to discuss the recent deaths of college athletes and the pressures these student face at school. 

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Recent Suicides Highlight Pressures College Athletes Face

Welcome back to Between Bells Everyone. Last week. Southern University and A. And M. College cheerleader Are Lana Miller died by suicide after writing on social media that she was struggling with her mental health within the last few months. At least five N. C. Double A. Student athletes have died by suicide. It's now raising concern among parents, universities and other athletes joining us. Now to discuss is Sarah Brown news editor for the Chronicle of Higher Education. Sarah Welcome to the show. We all know college students have a lot on their plate more specifically though, what are college athletes up against? Right? So as you mentioned, you know, students in general have been increasingly struggling with their mental health, especially in the past decade. I mean the latest data from a national survey called the healthy mind study indicated that last year during the spring semester about 40% of students screened positive for some form of depression And about 1/3 of students screened positive for some form of anxiety. So it's a real concern. Um Now in terms of student athletes they're experiencing all of the stressors of being a college student and they're also experiencing other pressures. The pressure to perform the pressure to balance practices and games with academics. There is also this pressure to sort of hide that you're struggling right to just plow ahead and say I'm fine I'm just going to keep playing. It's all good. Um And you know let's talk about the pandemic impacts right? So during the full lockdown early in the pandemic student athletes couldn't be with their teams. They couldn't compete for a few months. Some students lost entire seasons because their schools canceled them. Um So imagine that you've been training your entire life for this moment and all of a sudden your opportunity, opportunities are just gone and you can't get them back. Um You know, for most student athletes, they don't play professionally. So this is their last chance to play on a really high level. Um and I think that really is exacerbating some of the concerns that we're seeing. Yeah, that's definitely a factor. I didn't think of Sarah a large number of reported suicides this year, our female athletes, why do you think that is? I mean, look, anytime a person dies by suicide, especially in their teens and twenties, it's just horrible and tragic. And Um you know, I think it's a little bit unclear what exactly the pandemics impact has been on suicide and suicidality. Whether there's been a dramatic increase just in the past, you know, few months or a year, there has no question been an increase in suicides and suicidality among young people over the past 10-15 years. So that absolutely is a concern. Um you know, and I think for women, especially, like, let's think about social media, so students are living their entire lives online these days and you know, researchers are still trying to figure out some of exactly what these impacts are, what the impact of social media is on mental health. Um there is some evidence that spending a lot of time on social media makes anxiety and depression works worse. But for women, like existing on the internet can be exhausting. Um, right. So many of these student athletes, these female student athletes are using social media as a platform. They have large followings, some are even earning, you know, sponsorships and commissions, they're getting exposure, but they also have to face all of the online hate and nasty comments that come with being a woman on the internet. And you know, body images. And another thing that's important to point out right, body image is struggling with body image and eating issues not new for female student athletes, but it's really social media really just makes all of this. I think so much worse for people, Sarah I have about a minute left, but I want to ask you what should coaches, teammates, parents, friends, what signs should be, they should they be looking out for, right. I mean, you know, perfectionism is something that lots of college students are struggling with athletes struggle with it sort of more publicly with stakes that feel a lot higher. Um, so, you know, family coaches, athletic staff, everyone needs to sort of be keeping an eye out for sort of troubling signs, any any like troubling signs that would be troubling, no matter what right, moodiness, irritability, sudden changes in behavior with athletes. I think, you know, experts say it's more important to look at things like eating habits, a sudden lack of interest in their sport, sudden increase in panic or dread about competing. Those are some of the concerns that experts sort of point to. Um, I think when I've sort of seen students and others commenting on campuses about, you know, where do we go from here after all of these tragedies and you know, what I'm hearing is that some of it is about more resources for mental health. Um, and some of it is about culture change and making it clear that it's okay not to be okay. It's okay to fail. It's okay to take time away from your sport if something happens in your life. Um, that's sort of what I'm hearing from folks on college campuses. Sarah Brown, news editor for the Chronicle of Higher Education, we really appreciate it, Sarah, thank you.