Author(s): Nicholas Mwangi, David Muigai, Vincent Muasya and Mark Gathii Murage

Abstract:
For university student-athletes, mental wellbeing (MWB) is an essential part of their overall development and health. However, this group is subject to various stressors that could jeopardize their mental wellbeing, such as gender expectations, competitive demands, academic pressure, and injury. MWB outcomes may be influenced by variables like gender, academic level, university type, sport discipline, and history of mental illness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mental wellbeing of Kenyan university student-athletes in Nairobi City County. With a final sample of 863 respondents, a cross-sectional mixed-methods design was used to target 1,650 student-athletes from public and private universities. Simple random sampling chose participants for questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGDs), purposive sampling identified sports categories and key informant interviewees, and cluster sampling made a distinction between public and private universities. A structured questionnaire that included the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) and socio-demographic characteristics was used to gather quantitative data. Participants were nearly evenly divided by gender (50.4% male, 49.6% female), with an average age of 21.6±1.9 years. The average WEMWBS score was 52.2±7.5 (range = 26-70), with 14.0% showing high wellbeing, 12.2% showing low wellbeing, and 73.8% showing average wellbeing. Gender differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.197). However, athletes with a history of mental illness reported significantly lower wellbeing (42.9±5.9) compared to peers without such history (52.8±7.2; t (807) = -9.47, p<0.001). Coping strategies, support networks, and institutional reactions were examined using qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Open Data Kit (ODK) was used to collect the data, and SPSS v26 was used for analysis. using both inferential and descriptive statistics (p<0.05). NACOSTI and the Kenyatta University Ethical Review Board (KUERB) provided their ethical approval. The results will guide interventions promoting student-athlete mental wellbeing, inform institutional policy, and enhance academic literature.

DOI: 10.22271/kheljournal.2025.v12.i6a.4059

Pages: 44-51  |  260 Views  185 Downloads

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