Understanding and positively influencing athlete mental health have become key goals for researchers and sporting stakeholders (e.g. coaches, support staff, clubs and governing bodies). In this article, we outline a novel perspective for tackling these challenges, drawing on an influential theory of group processes. This social identity approach can, we argue, help explain when and why the characteristics and demands of sport, which is typically a collective endeavour, pose a threat to athlete mental health and provide a guiding framework for efforts to protect and enhance athlete mental health. Here, we seek to illustrate the value of a social identity analysis of athlete mental health through three key points that speak to its analytical and practical value. Specifically, we propose: (1) that social identities can act as psychological resources that support athlete mental health, (2) that social identities are critical to athlete mental health during and after sporting transitions and (3) that leadership informed by a social identity approach can facilitate athlete mental health. With a view to maximising the value of our analysis both for those working with athletes and for researchers, we also identify practical steps that relevant stakeholders could take to support athlete mental health, and key avenues for future research to further test our propositions and advance understanding. Our analysis provides a new lens through which all those invested in understanding and supporting athlete mental health can approach these challenges, and a foundation for novel solutions.

了解并积极影响运动员的心理健康已成为研究人员和体育利益相关者（例如教练、支持人员、俱乐部和管理机构）的关键目标。在本文中，我们利用有影响力的群体过程理论，概述了应对这些挑战的新颖视角。我们认为，这种社会认同方法可以帮助解释体育运动（通常是一项集体努力）的特征和要求何时以及为何对运动员心理健康构成威胁，并为保护和增强运动员心理健康的努力提供指导框架。在这里，我们试图通过三个关键点来说明运动员心理健康的社会认同分析的价值，这三个关键点说明了其分析和实践价值。具体来说，我们建议：（1）社会身份可以作为支持运动员心理健康的心理资源，（2）社会身份在运动过渡期间和之后对运动员的心理健康至关重要，（3）领导力以社会身份为基础方法可以促进运动员的心理健康。为了最大限度地提高我们的分析对运动员和研究人员的价值，我们还确定了相关利益相关者可以采取的支持运动员心理健康的实际步骤，以及未来研究的关键途径，以进一步测试我们的主张和增进理解。我们的分析提供了一个新的视角，所有致力于理解和支持运动员心理健康的人都可以通过这个视角应对这些挑战，并为新颖的解决方案奠定了基础。