Perceptions of Athletes vs Non-Athletes on the College Athlete Experience

Abstract

Non-athlete college students tend to view their student-athlete peers negatively because they believe athletes have undue privileges. Student-athletes are often aware of these negative perceptions (Stone, 2012). The goal of this preliminary and exploratory study is to determine whether there is a significant difference between non-athletes' and athletes' perceptions of athlete privilege. Data were collected via an online survey, in which participants answered demographic questions before selecting, from a list, the privileges they believe athletes at their university have. SPSS analysis found several significant differences between divisions and between athletic involvement and perceived privileges. More importantly, there were no significant differences between divisions and athletic involvement regarding the perceptions of stress or mental health struggles. This indicates that perceived perks in collegiate athletics do not necessarily translate into perceived improvements in psychological well-being. This could be beneficial to understanding how student-athlete stereotypes and perceived privilege relate to help-seeking behavior and mental health in collegiate athletes.