Why Aren’t We Talking About Regional Identity in Athletics?

Source: Yunustug from Studio Turkey

Regional identity can typically be described as “rural” or “urban,” though it is also heavily influenced by broader geographic norms and cultural customs. Thus, while regional identity includes objective influencers (e.g., population counts), it also includes a range of subjective influences (e.g., media portrayals, self-perception).

Ultimately, regional identity encompasses a range of individual experiences that, at times, contain common threads (Malatzky & Bourke, 2016). Common threads among rural culture may include stoicism, independence, emphasis on family, strong community ties, defined gender roles, stronger mental health stigma, and emphasis on “play” experiences.

In contrast, common threads in urban culture may include an emphasis on correcting social inequalities, being an active citizen, staying connected to “home,” autonomy, individualism, and a stronger draw for sports participation. Of importance, rurality and urbanicity are not homogenous and, instead, may draw from common structural and attitudinal elements.

Athlete Development

Rural athletes are generally more likely to cross-sport, which is beneficial for athlete development, reduces the risk of overuse injuries, and reduces the risk of burnout early in one’s collegiate career. In addition, a body of literature describes rural areas as placing a heavier emphasis on unstructured, outdoor, and risky play, which improves physical literacy and leads to more “well-rounded” individuals who are used to and confident functioning with autonomy (Hoekman, Breedveld, & Kraaykamp, 2017; Newport et al., 2022; Webb, 2019). In contrast, urban areas are more likely to emphasize programmed and structured activities and sports, often as a result of safety, access, and proximity limitations.

Mental Health and Well-Being

A high level of connection to neighboring adults in rural environments promotes healthy/safe roaming and positive role models; however, this same level of connection may also result in rural parents placing heightened pressure on their children’s athletic success if it is perceived as a reflection of their parenting ability. This pressure may ultimately result in negative developmental and mental health outcomes. The impact of pressure, however, is not unique to rural athletes, as urban culture typically puts a large emphasis on sports specialization, which is known to increase burnout among athletes. Ultimately, positive parenting and community/school support are more likely to influence athlete mental health and well-being as opposed to rural and urban regional identity alone.

Help-Seeking

Athletes operating in rural spaces may be more likely to face stigmatization of mental health help-seeking, geographic isolation, and service sparsity, particularly with regard to specialty and culturally competent services. Mental health providers serving these athletes may have reduced access to resources, experience conflicts between professional guidelines and community values, and face unique challenges with dual relationships, confidentiality, and privacy.

Rural athletes may also experience attitude barriers toward help-seeking, as outlined by Cheesmond, Davies, and Inder (2019), including stoicism, stigma, distrust, and meaning. These barriers do not exist in isolation. Rather, rural athletes often experience the coexistence of multiple barriers to mental health seeking.

Stoicism is often the strongest thread running through the concept of rural identity and is characterized by silently coping with mental distress and a strong emphasis on gender binaries. In addition, both perceived (i.e., fear of being labeled/ostracized, lack of confidentiality) and self-stigma (i.e., embarrassment or shame, fear of diagnosis, denial) influence help-seeking behaviors among rural populations.

Further, distrust towards external providers who may have little understanding of rural life or treatments that would be of value to rural residents, as well as systems of the whole that may promote fear of painful or humiliating treatment, discrimination, or forced removal, influence rural athletes' perceptions of help-seeking. Finally, rural populations are impacted by what it means to seek help at all, including appropriate parameters of seeking help (e.g., only for extreme, outward symptoms vs. problems of everyday life) and reduced mental health literacy (e.g., lack of awareness of symptoms, mental health terminology, or available resources).

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Interpersonal Functioning

Finally, rural athletes may have experienced less parental supervision throughout their upbringings, allowing them to take more risks. Risky and unstructured play improves problem-solving, communication, and decision-making. Rural populations often define friendship as having relationships with everyone in their environment; when larger, urban settings don’t offer this type of interpersonal connection, rural athletes may experience social isolation and unique barriers to developing friendships (Webb, 2019). In contrast, urban athletes may have experienced increased exposure to diverse identities, environments, and thoughts, better equipping them for a range of environments.

How to Support Athletes With a Range of Regional Identities

Mental health professionals working within sports ecosystems are tasked with creating health-promoting environments (NCAA Sport Science Institute, 2024), which includes fostering the multidimensional nature of identity among athletes. In fact, they may be the only professionals in athletic spaces considering the impact of regional identity at all.

Thus, it is recommended that mental health and allied professionals aim to identify athletes who may be experiencing difficulties adjusting to new environments based on their regional identities through regular screenings (e.g., incoming, annual, before/after breaks). In addition, supporting athletes in balancing their regional identity with navigating new cultural environments is recommended. It can be done through supporting athletes in maintaining family/cultural connections and identifying coping skills and sociocultural supports.

Finally, licensed mental health professionals are encouraged to empower athletic organizations to consider the impact of regional differences by normalizing and recognizing cultural challenges, considering regional identity in programming (e.g., food options, events), identifying organizational liaisons with similar lived experiences, or ensuring access to education, training, and resources in the area of regional identity for staff.

I want to thank Sarah Dowd, Erin Haugen, and McCay Mathis for their unique regional experiences working with athletes and bringing this conversation to life.