The impact of adverse childhood experiences, psychological distress and resilience on depression in amateur athletes

Introduction: Depression is one of the athletes' common problems leading to mental and physical damage. Aim: This study investigates the effect of adverse childhood experiences, psychological distress, and resilience on depression in amateur athletes. Method: The method is descriptive-analytical. The population included amateur athletes in Iran in 2021. 384 individuals were selected as the research sample based on the convenience sampling method. The data collection tool is Beck's Depression Inventory (1996), Connor & Davidson Resilience scale (2003), Pornaghash and Amini Adverse childhood experiences inventory (2019) and Kessler psychological distress scale (2000). In order to analyze the data, the statistical method of structural equations modeling was used by SPSS-20 and PLS-2. Results: The results showed that adverse childhood experiences had an effect of 0.380, resilience -0.360, and psychological distress 0.264 on depression. Conclusion: Conditions for improving athletes' resilience should be provided while managing adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress to reduce burnout. In general, according to the results, it is suggested that by holding training courses, athletes' mental and psychological empowerment are provided.