Study reveals a high prevalence of mental health problems in soccer referees

Huelva (EFE).- Researchers from the University of Huelva and Baghdad University have developed a study that has found a high prevalence of mental health problems in the group of female football referees, both amateur and professional.

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Researchers, in their article published as ‘Psychopathological symptoms in football referees: a pilot study’, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology to Sport and Physical Exercise, start from the fact that mental health problems in sport are frequent and have a high incidence, both in elite and amateur sport, although little studied in the refereeing collective. In their work, a cross-sectional pilot study, they have sought to analyze the relationship between the referee category and psychopathological symptoms in female soccer referees. To this end, they have had the participation of 57 main female soccer referees. They have an average age of between 25.37 years and 6.18 years of refereeing experience.

More than 70% plan to consult a professional

47.4% of the participants refereed in the amateur category compared to 52.6% who did so in semi-professional/professional categories. To assess psychopathological symptoms, the researchers used the “The Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire”, revealing that 73.7% of the sample reported having considered seeking professional help for their psychological distress. However, after the analysis, no differences have been detected between amateur and semi-professional/professional referees in psychopathological symptomatology. Except on the obsession-compulsion scale, where amateurs obtain higher scores.