2024 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Fostering Emotional Literacy in Male Student Athletes

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-19-2024

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Matthew Genuchi

Abstract

Emotional illiteracy and distress are common factors that influence a person’s behaviors and prevent them from reaching a state of calmness. These problems are especially prevalent in men and can result in negative coping mechanisms, such as alcohol and drug abuse. The cause of these problems can stem from the social stigma surrounding men’s emotional expression and the concept of masculinity. Promoting emotional literacy requires learning how to better understand one’s own emotions and how to better handle discomfort and distress. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to promote healthy men with increased emotional literacy and additional coping mechanisms to manage their distress. As a part of this study, male student athletes are tasked with attending a 10 session program that targets the development of social-emotional skills with an emphasis on skills such as distress tolerance, emotional intelligence, and belongingness. Student athletes meet once a month for the group intervention, and over three different timepoints will complete a survey containing established measures of Distress Tolerance, Emotional literacy, and sense of Belongingness. The scales will be used to measure the changes of the participants’ responses over the course of the study. Data collected is currently underway and will be analyzed upon completion of the 10 session program.

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