Researching Symptoms of Depression among Athletes

Richard Eirikur Taehtinen is an assistant professor of psychology in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Akureyri. His research centers on the mental health of athletes.

For the most part, Richard’s body of research has focused on the symptoms of depression among athletes. The main reason for his interest in the area is that depression is strongly linked to living conditions and quality of life, which affects how people participate in society on the whole.

Many symptoms of depression also play a major role in how athletes perform. This may include sleep and sleep disturbances, nutritional problems and an inability to focus. These symptoms also impact the inner life of athletes and may manifest as, for example, mood swings, diminished self-esteem and apathy. “As I myself have experienced both the highs and lows as an athlete and coach, I find we still need to better understand and recognize the importance of mental health among athletes,” says Richard.

Further Research Needed on the Psychology of Athletics

Richard’s doctoral thesis discussed the symptoms of depression among athletes. He started off by systematically reviewing the available research to create a summary of the studies on depression among athletes. There were 157 studies carried out between 1987 and 2019. Most research is rather recent with 70% of the studies published after 2013, which indicates that there has been little emphasis on researching this area. This trend underscores how little attention has been paid in recent years to depression and researching depression among athletes.

Overall, the results of Richard’s work indicate that fatigue and lack of energy are the most prevalent symptoms of depression among athletes. It was also shown that of the athletes who displayed the greatest symptoms of depression, 40% of them experienced neither irritability or apathy, although these are primary symptoms of depression.

Another result was that athletes who fixated on negative thoughts were more likely to experience symptoms of depression over time, especially those under excessive stress.

“There’s a real need for more research in this area. Likewise, there’s a need to make the public aware of our current understanding. That way we can establish methods to strengthen the mental health of athletes in a systematic way, especially high-performance athletes,” says Richard.

What are you working on these days?

These days Richard is teaching a course on clinical psychology in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Akureyri and preparing to take the next steps with his research. He is also laying the foundation for a new course in a research-based master’s program in the faculty. The course will examine the psychology of athletics with an emphasis on mental health among athletes.

In addition to his work as an assistant professor at the University of Akureyri, Richard also provides psychological counseling for sports associations and their members. He works for the Icelandic women’s hockey team, who are currently preparing for the preliminary competition to qualify for the Olympics. “I really enjoy my work both in academia and on the field because they complement one another so well,” says Richard.

Where is Richard from?

Richard was born in 1981 in Sweden and grew up in Finland. He moved to Iceland in 2008 to coach ice hockey. He received his BA in coaching and sports management from Linneaus University in Sweden in 2007, his BS in psychology from Reykjavík University in 2013 and his MSc in clinical psychology from the same university in 2017. He completed his doctoral degree in sports psychology from Liverpool John Moores University in 2021. He as been on the faculty at the University of Akureyri since 2020.