Risk and protective factors for mental health in strength and conditioning coaches: Workload, perfectionism, and coping strategies

Strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches face high workloads, performance pressure, and complex interpersonal demands, yet their mental health remains understudied. This study examined how workload, perfectionism, and coping strategies relate to S&C coaches’ mental health.

Data on work characteristics, mental health, perfectionism, and coping strategies were collected via an online survey of 303 Polish S&C coaches (77.9% males). Participants completed validated measures of workload (NASA-TLX), perfectionism (PPS-S; PCI-10), coping (Mini-COPE), depressive symptoms (PHQ-8), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), and life satisfaction (SWLS). Differences across performance tiers were examined with Kruskal-Wallis tests, and associations between variables were analysed using correlations, multiple regression, and mediation models.

Clinically relevant depressive and anxiety symptoms were reported by 31.7% and 34.0% of participants, respectively. High-performance coaches reported significantly higher workloads and socially prescribed perfectionism compared to lower performance tiers. Regression analyses identified workload and perfectionism as significant predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Maladaptive coping strategies showed stronger direct and indirect associations with mental health outcomes than adaptive coping strategies. Self-blame emerged as the strongest negative predictor and mediator for all mental health outcomes.

Our findings indicate a substantial prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in Polish S&C coaches, with workload, perfectionism, and coping strategies emerging as significant psychosocial correlates. We underscore the need to treat S&C coaching as an occupational context with distinct mental health risks and provide insights to tailor support strategies.