Psychology Referrals in Pediatric Sports Medicine: Patterns from an Integrated Clinic

This study evaluated results from a novel psychology clinic integrated within a pediatric sports medicine (SM) program. Participants included 151 patients (mean age = 14.86, 62.25% female) seen for an initial psychology visit. Patients completed self-report measures, and referral and patient characteristics were abstracted via medical record. The sample was heterogeneous in terms of demographic variables and illness- or injury-related factors. Most common referral reasons were anxiety, general coping, depression, and pain. Adjustment and anxiety disorders were the most common diagnoses, while pain management, sleep, school, and eating were also common areas of difficulty. Rates of previous mental health (MH) treatment (52.98%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis (15.23%) or attention concerns (10.60%), and history of suicidal ideation (SI, 23.65%) were high. Youth in this sample endorsed poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL) than comparative samples. Findings support the potential benefit of integrated psychological care to address a variety of MH challenges in pediatric SM.