Eating Disorders and Athletes: Coach-Athlete Relationship

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woman competing in gymnastics

Contributor: Libby Lyons, MSW, LCSW, CEDS

The athlete and coach relationship can be a powerful one when the environment is a positive one. To learn more about the coach-athlete relationship, we must first look at the characteristics and risk factors of athletes with eating disorders versus non-athlete eating disordered individuals.

Characteristics of an Athlete with ED

Athletes are typically at a higher risk for eating disorders than the non-athlete eating disorder populations due to participation in judged sports and aesthetic sports. Those athletes with anorexia nervosa typically have characteristics of perfectionism, high self-expectations, competiveness, hyperactivity, repetitive exercise, compulsiveness, increased success drive, tendency toward depression, body image distortion, and preoccupation with dieting and weight (Eating Disorder Statistics: Athletes, 2016).

These characteristics are not much different from non-athletic eating disorder individuals, and studies have shown that female athletes generally do not exhibit more disordered-eating symptoms than women who did not participate in collegiate sports. However, data suggests that lean-sport athletes are at greater risk for disordered eating than athletes in non-lean sports (Reinking and Alexander, 2005).

Lean sports include running and swimming, while non-lean sports rely more on muscle mass and strength. As eating disorder behaviors and cognitions increase, the health and well-being of the athlete begin to decline as well, affecting the performance of the athlete within their sport. It is also the reverse effect that as the athlete’s health and well-being increases, so does their sport performance.

The Risk Factors

There are increased risk factors for athletes within a more elite level of sport, such as NCAA Division 1 level, especially in sports that focus on the individual rather than the entire team, for example, gymnastics, figure skating, running, and diving. Sports that emphasize weight and appearance, such as endurance sports, as well as sports which require sustained training since childhood, pose increased risk factors for athletes to develop eating disorder behaviors. (Hosick-Brutlag, 2005).

swimmer-583667_640The coach-athlete relationship can add or deter from increased eating disorder behaviors in the athlete. The coach and athlete often spend more time together than the biological family, resulting in the athlete feeling a deeper connection with their team and coach(s).

The coach-athlete relationship has been shown to influence athletes’ perceptions of their sport, satisfaction with sport, and enjoyment of chosen sport.
There are 3 main components in which athletes view their relationship to their coach as well as the sport they play (NEDA, 2016). These are:

  1. Situational factors: Nature and type of sport, the level of competition, and if the sport is practice versus game/competition.
  2. Coach and athlete individual difference variables: age of athlete versus coach, sex of athlete versus coach, perceived coaching style norms within sport environment, goals of both athlete and coach, and
  3. The coach’s perception of athletes’ attitudes around the sport, training, and team.

Coaches who have a significantly different goal from that of the athlete, or differing views of coaching style and even the coach being of opposite sex from the athlete can be detrimental to the relationship.

Many times coaches who devalue the well-being and emotional health of the athlete can create an environment of nonchalant or negative attitudes among teammates towards the sport, as well as lack of communication between the athletes themselves and the coach.

Positive Factors in Healthy Environments

There are also positive, protective factors between coaches and athletes that develop in healthy environments (NEDA 2016). These are:

  • A positive, person-oriented coaching style rather than negative, performance-oriented coaching style.
  • Social influence and support from teammates with healthy attitudes towards size and shape.
  • Coaches who emphasize factors that contributes to personal success such as motivation and enthusiasm rather than body weight or shape.
  • Coaches and parents, who educate, talk about, and support the changing female body.

Positive environments can foster open communication between the teammates, coach-to-athlete, and overall attitude of the team. When coaches are nurturing to not only the individual’s sport’s needs, but their well-being, it can create a stronger, healthier athlete. It can foster openness for teammates to share concerns of an athlete who is thought to have eating disorder behaviors, or other concerns.

sport-659588_640x426Athletic environments that emphasize personal success over body weight shape, or size, can create a healthy view on being an athlete in a particular sport. Education is also key in sports and coaching to bring awareness to eating disorders and other co-morbid factors and help prevent them when introduced early on in athlete’s careers.

Athletes may indeed have higher risk factors that their non-athlete eating disordered counterparts, but there are protective risk factors that can help protect athletes from eating disorders and other co-morbid issues. Factors such as education around eating disorders and stressors within sport, openness and communication between team and coach, as well as focus on the athlete as a person (as well as athlete) can foster positive athletic and team environments.

Healthy environments create healthy athletes which in turn improves athletic performance. We can conclude from these studies that coaches and teams who work to enable such positive environments will have healthier athletes, higher performance and a team-oriented approach towards the sport.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

What steps have you taken to foster a healthy coach/athlete relationship? What advice do you have to share?

Image of Libby Lyons and familyAbout the Author: Libby Lyons, MSW, LCSW, CEDS is a specialist in the eating disorder field. Libby has been treating eating disorders for 10 years within the St. Louis area, and enjoys working with individuals of all ages.

References:

[1]: Eating Disorder Statistics: Athletes.  Retrieved 02/12/16  http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/
[2]: Mark F Reinking, Laura E Alexander.  Prevalence of Disordered-Eating Behaviors in Undergraduate Female Collegiate Athletes and Non-athletes.  Journal of Athletic Training. 2005 Jan-Mar; 40(1): 47–51
[3]: Hosick-Brutlag, Michelle. Psychology of sport more than performance enhancement. The NCAA News Online, March 14th, 2005.  Retrieved 02/10/16 http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/psychologyofsport.pdf
[4]: The Coach and Trainer Toolkit. National Association of Eating Disorders. Retrieved 02/13/16.
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/Toolkits/coachandtrainertoolkit/index.html

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on March 11, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com