CSPPA Partners With Two Universities to Perform Mental Health Survey in Esports
- CSPPA partners with two english universities to perform a survey of mental health in esports.
- The aim of this research project is to examine factors that influence mental health of an esports player.
- The data collection for this project will soon commence.
The Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA) has gone ahead and partnered with members of the University of Chichester and University of Winchester from England to perform what they claim to be the first-ever mental health survey in esports of its kind.
Through this research project Dr Phil Birch, Ben Sharpe, and Dr Matt Smith will be examining the factors that influence the mental health of an esports player. The data collection for this project is all set to commence in the coming weeks.
Survey of Mental Health in Esports to Take Place Soon
Two members of the current project Dr Phil Birch and Dr Matt Smith have actually conducted and published a preliminary independent study, evidence collected from which found that CS:GO players who compete at the highest level of competitive Counter-Strike “Face significant stressors in their competitive lives.”
This study prompted CSPPA to partner with the above-mentioned universities to conduct further research. The objective of this study will be to provide a comprehensive examination of the factors that influence mental health in professional esports players, specifically CS:GO.
CSPPA in a statement said that “We are confident this project will advance the current lack of understanding of the factors influencing mental health in CS:GO. By doing this we will be in a better position to support professional players to deal with the intense demands of professional gameplay.”
The association hopes that these findings will prove beneficial for other esports as well, helping them understand the mental health of their players while also highlighting the importance of mental health to the broader esports ecosystem.
The mental health of CS:GO players have been a topic of discussion within the community for quite some time now. The Danish esports organization Astralis has been quite vocal on the issue, granting breaks to two of their senior members in recent times while expanding their roster to a seven-player unit in order to combat stress through periodic player rotation.
2020 has been a pivotal year in opening the industry’s eyes towards this growing problem, many players took a break due to both stress and fatigue. Alex "ALEX" McMeekin stepped down from the Vitality lineup due to a hectic schedule, he was followed by both Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander and Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth going on an indefinite break due to burnout, and the most recent being Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer who left FaZe Clan’s active roster to recover from extended fatigue.
The project will start collecting data for its research in the coming weeks. Let’s see what the final findings of this research will be and what it might lead to next.
