MENTAL HEALTH AMONG HIGH-PERFORMANCE AFRICAN ATHLETES: A SCOPING REVIEW

Abstract

The sporting world has highlighted the need for a better understanding of high-performance athletes’ mental health. Little is known about the mental health of African high-performance athletes, despite the widespread practice of sport. Objective: To map the literature on mental health among African high-performance athletes. Methods: A search was conducted in 2025 across four electronic databases, namely: Web of Science, PubMed, Scielo and Scopus, following the PRISMA guidelines for the preparation of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Original articles involving African athletes were included, classified as levels 3 to 5 according to the Participation Classification Framework (McKay et al., 2022), without distinction by sport or gender, and containing relevant information on various aspects of athletes’ mental health. Results: The search yielded 5,249 articles conducted in a limited number of African countries. Following the various stages of the selection process, 17 studies were deemed eligible. Analysis of these articles led to the following conclusions: (1) the most commonly studied mental disorders are anxiety and depression; (2) these were followed by stress, anxiety, and distress; and, finally, (3) sleep disorders. Health-damaging behaviours such as smoking, poor dietary habits, harmful alcohol consumption, and physical and sexual abuse were also identified among young athletes, albeit less frequently. Conclusion: Generally speaking, mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety are shown to be a common problem throughout the lives of African athletes, offset by high levels of mental resilience. There is a need to conduct studies in more African countries, focusing on sports with the greatest social impact.