Changes in mental health literacy and perceived psychological safety following a retired athlete–led, team-embedded education session in sport

Athletes experience mental health difficulties at rates comparable to or exceeding those of the general population, yet disclosure and help-seeking are often constrained by stigma and performance-oriented norms. This study evaluated a brief, retired-athlete–led, team-embedded mental health literacy (MHL) session and examined changes in MHL, perceived psychological safety, and help-seeking intention among athletes from two Japanese competitive sport teams in the women’s category. Thirty-four athletes (badminton, volleyball) attended a 90-min session integrating psychoeducation and facilitated team dialogue delivered by retired athletes who had completed facilitator training in mental health literacy.

Using a single-group pre–post–2-month follow-up design, outcomes were assessed at baseline, immediately post-session, and follow-up. Mixed-effects models estimated change over time, with exploratory stratification by baseline psychological strain measured with the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ). MHL improved from baseline to post-session and remained higher at follow-up (standardised mean changes of 0.72 and 0.65, respectively).

Perceived psychological safety also increased and was maintained (0.65 and 0.59). Exploratory subgroup estimates varied by baseline strain, although time × strain-group interactions were not statistically significant. The proportion endorsing likely/very likely help-seeking increased descriptively (41%, 53%, 50%) but showed no clear time effects.

These preliminary findings support further controlled and implementation-oriented evaluation of retired-athlete–led delivery and downstream help-seeking behaviour. We thank the retired athlete facilitators for generously sharing their time, lived experience, and insights in co-delivering the sessions and refining the educational materials, including Mika Sugimoto, Kana Oyama, Hazuki Yuda, and Shin Kawamura, as well as the rugby players registered with the JRPA who contributed to the program. We also appreciate the support and cooperation of the JRPA secretariat staff and the players from each club who participated in this study.

Finally, we are grateful to the coaching and support staff who accommodated scheduling and provided logistical assistance. This study was supported by the TOYOTA Foundation (D22-PI-0002), KAKENHI Fostering Joint International Research (21KK0226), and the Grant-in-Aid for Academic Knowledge Co-creation Program (23812031) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Additional support was provided through an endowed fund from Kubota Corporation.

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this paper. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Sports Science Initiative, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1, Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153-8902, Tokyo, Japan This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo (approval number: 1079).