In this episode, Kendall Monroe and Carson Cox will be interviewing Dr. Zengaro and discussing her research in the mental health of college athletes. 

Dr. Zengaro's background: "My research interests are in sport-health communication, with a focus on the stigma of mental health in college sports. For my dissertation, I conducted a qualitative study, and I researched how athlete identity contributes to the stigma of mental health communication in college sports through a toughness narrative based on the Communication Theory of Identity. This toughness narrative creates the idealized image of an athlete and the “no pain no gain” mentality that is very common in sports, which makes it harder for athletes to communicate mental health issues for fear of appearing weak to their coaches and teammates. I am currently looking at how to publish this data to improve mental health literacy and communication for student-athletes. Prior research I have done includes looking at factors that affect disclosure of health issues and fan identity and social media use in sports."