Factors Impacting Student Performance

Suicide

• The American College Health Association and the Centers for Disease Control report suicide as the second leading cause of death among college students.

• More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease combined.

Substance Abuse

• Columbia University study shows almost half of full-time college students binge drink or abuse prescription drugs. A quarter of those meet the medical definition of having a problem with substance abuse or dependence. That is three times the rate of general population.

• Young adults age 18 to 25, per the National Institute of Health, are the biggest abusers of prescription drugs (opioid pain relievers, ADHD stimulants and anti-anxiety drugs).

• Elevated risk of physical injury among student athletes who have anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

• Student athletes have a greater risk of Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) abuse-consequently increasing risk for violence, aggression, poor impulse control and impaired judgement.

Access and Stigma

• Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) survey reveals that 33%+ of these centers have no physician services.

• Student Athletes frequently resist using on-campus counseling services and further hesitate accessing emotional health supports housed in athletic departments. This hesitation is rooted in concerns about confidentiality/privacy breaches, and perceptions that they be labeled as “mentally weak” or should “fight through the pain” and “show no weakness.”

• Resiliency is absolutely essential to optimal peak performance but a culture of insensitivity and harshness is a powerfully destructive force to any individual or group.

Top 10 Reasons to Implement Game Changer

Game Changer Helps:

1. Address athletic department and school generated student athlete concerns by providing an easily accessible, immediate, and seamless concierge service available 24/7/365. This includes psychiatric physician oversight if needed.

2. Provide confidential, trusted, and unbiased external expertise to athletic department / administration.

3. In the event of a crisis event, activation of a customized on-site Emergency Crisis Response team within 24 to 72 hours to provide psychological relief for impacted students and staff.

4. Aid in the assessment of high risk students.

5. Complement and NOT replace existing on or off campus resources.

6. Provide services from a culturally, ethnically, and socially sensitive perspective for an increasingly diverse student athlete population.

7. Help all student athletes achieve their true academic and social potential by eliminating emotional barriers impeding student success.

8. Assist with student retention rates and recruitment.