Self-reported cognitive function and mental health experiences among 55 Paralympic and 114 Olympic athletes
| Paralympic athletes | Olympic athletes | |||||||||
| N=55 (%) | N=114 (%) | |||||||||
| Yes | Always | Quite often | Sometimes | No | Yes | Always | Quite often | Sometimes | No | |
| Do you currently experience…? | ||||||||||
| Concentration difficulties | 2 (4) | 19 (34) | 34 (62) | 5 (4) | 38 (33) | 71 (62) | ||||
| Attention difficulties | 14 (25) | 41 (75) | 2 (2) | 27 (24) | 85 (75) | |||||
| Memory difficulties | 3 (6) | 15 (27) | 37 (67) | 1 (1) | 3 (3) | 26 (23) | 84 (74) | |||
| Dyslexia | 7 (13) | 48 (87) | 9 (8) | 105 (92) | ||||||
| Learning disabilities | 3 (6) | 52 (94) | 5 (4) | 109 (96) | ||||||
| Adapted education at school/studies (now or earlier)? | 17 (31) | 38 (69) | 13 (11) | 101 (89) | ||||||
| Have you ever been assessed for educational and psychological counselling service at school? | 15 (27) | 40 (73) | 7 (6) | 107 (94) | ||||||
| Yes | Always | Quite often | Sometimes | Never | Yes | Always | Quite often | Sometimes | Never | |
| Do you currently experience … | ||||||||||
| That everything is hopeless and/ or that you feel down and depressed? | 5 (9) | 13 (24) | 37 (67) | 1 (1) | 2 (2) | 36 (31) | 75 (66) | |||
| That you are not interested in things and/or do not enjoy the things you do? | 4 (7) | 15 (27) | 36 (65) | 1 (1) | 2 (2) | 37 (32) | 74 (65) | |||
| A lot of anxiety, uncertainty, unfounded fear and/or anxiety/ fear in various situations? | 2 (4) | 17 (31) | 36 (65) | 1 (1) | 5 (4) | 30 (26) | 78 (68) | |||
| That you have struggled to sleep and/or woken up earlier than you wanted without getting back to sleep? | 5 (9) | 24 (44) | 26 (47) | 1 (1) | 11 (10) | 43 (38) | 59 (52) | |||
| That you have been unusually tired during the day? | 1 (2) | 4 (7) | 18 (33) | 32 (58) | 2 (2) | 8 (7) | 31 (27) | 73 (64) | ||
| That social media and/or gaming/games create negative stress for you? | 5 (9) | 50 (91) | 4 (3) | 26 (23) | 84 (74) | |||||
| Have you in the last 6 months been in contact with a sports psychologist for performance reasons? | 20 (36) | 35 (64) | 43 (38) | 71 (62) | ||||||
| Do you want follow-up from a sports psychologist?* | 25 (45) | 19 (35) | 56 (49) | 58 (51) | ||||||
Only athletes preparing for Tokyo2020 and Beijing2022 were analysed.
*Response missing from 11 Paralympic athletes.