Athletic Identity Research Articles

Athlete identity in para-sport: A comparative study of athletes with congenital and acquired disabilities

BackgroundIdentity development explores how individuals perceive themselves based on their life experiences, including their current self and aspirations. Athlete Identity has been studied using a 4-factor framework across various sports and ability groups. However, there is limited research on how individuals with physical disabilities perceive themselves as athletes and how an acquired disability impacts identity compared to a congenital disability. ObjectiveTo test the validity of the 4-Factor Model of Athlete Identity and to determine if athletic identity differs between para-athletes who have congenital versus acquired disabilities. MethodsSecondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. Participants consisted of 408 individuals (8 years and older) who play wheelchair basketball (n = 315 male; 29.13 ± 13.89 yrs; M ± SD) who responded to a brief online questionnaire including basic demographics and the 10-item Athlete Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). ResultsNo significant differences in total AIMS scores were found between participants with congenital disabilities and participants with acquired disabilities. Age was a significant covariate. Eigenvalue analysis of the AIMS scores shows that 2 factors describe this population of athletes. ConclusionsDisability acquisition is not associated with total AIMS scores. Athletic identity is weaker in older participants suggesting a more inclusive self-schema as one ages. The 4-factor model of Athletic Identity is not applicable in this population. Continued research into the intersection of athlete and disability identity is warranted. Abstract presentedNorth American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, 2019.

Prioritise safety, optimise success! Return to rugby postpartum.

Pregnancy and childbirth involve substantial physical, physiological and psychological changes. As such, postpartum rugby players should be supported and appropriately prepared to return to the demands of rugby alongside the additional demands of motherhood. This review aims to discuss specific perinatal considerations that inform a rugby player's readiness to return-to-sport postpartum and present an approach to rehabilitation. Before engaging in full rugby training and matchplay, postpartum players should have progressed through the initial phases of rehabilitation and graded sports-specific training to prepare them for the loads they will be exposed to. Additional rehabilitation considerations include minimising deconditioning during pregnancy; medical concerns; the abdominal wall; the pelvic floor; perinatal breast changes, breastfeeding and risk of contact breast injury; body mass; nutritional requirements; hormonal considerations; athlete identity and psychological considerations; joining team training; return to contact and tackle training; evaluating player load tolerance and future research, policy and surveillance needs. A whole-systems, biopsychosocial approach following an evidence informed return-to-sport framework is recommended when rehabilitating postpartum rugby players. Health and exercise professionals are encouraged to use the perinatal-specific recommendations in this review to guide the development of postpartum rehabilitation protocols and resources.

Development of a multi-level feature fusion model for basketball player trajectory tracking

To solve the problems of low matching degree, long tracking time, and low accuracy of multi-target tracking in the process of athlete motion trajectory tracking using deep learning technology, a new athlete motion trajectory tracking model was proposed in this study. The study first optimized the current object detection algorithm in basketball, utilized a hybrid attention mechanism to extract object features, and improved the non-maximum suppression strategy. Then, a hybrid branch network was introduced to improve the residual network and a new athlete identity recognition model was proposed. Finally, a new trajectory tracking model was designed by combining the object detection model and the athlete identity recognition model. The research results indicated that in the object detection experiment, the detection time of the proposed object detection algorithm was always below 0.4 s, and its average accuracy reached up to 0.63. In trajectory tracking testing, the final built tracking model had a multi-target tracking accuracy of up to 0.98, and its tracking overlap rate was as low as 0.02. This study has the following two contributions. Firstly, a new model of athlete trajectory tracking is proposed, which improves the accuracy and efficiency of multi-target tracking by optimizing object detection algorithm and introducing hybrid branch network. Second, the model has excellent performance in both object detection and track tracking, which can not only provide a new solution for athletes' motion trajectory tracking, but also significantly improve the effect of motion tracking.

The Role of Athlete Identity, Motivation, and Satisfaction on the Mental Well-Being of Division I Collegiate Athletes

Concerns about the mental well-being of collegiate athletes, given high reports of psychological issues, have prompted a survey-based study among NCAA Division I student-athletes. The research explores the influence of athlete identity, motivation, and satisfaction on mental well-being, and how it varies among different NCAA classifications (i.e., G5, FCS, DI-NO). Instruments used include the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ), the Student-Athlete’s Motivation Towards Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ), and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). The secondary aim investigates differences in these factors across Division I competition levels (i.e., G5, FCS, DI-NO). This study provides valuable insights into NCAA Division I collegiate athletes' mental well-being, uncovers obstacles to seeking help, such as perceived stigma and coach attitudes, and suggests improvements for institutional psychological programs. In understanding these psychological challenges and barriers, the research aims to inform the development of more effective mental well-being strategies and interventions for collegiate athletes.

NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes’ Motivational Perspectives Pertaining to their Academic and Athletic Roles

Research continues to point to collegiate athletes need to navigate their conflicting roles of academics and athletics simultaneously to be successful in their collegiate experience. Thus, in order to traverse these dual roles, collegiate athletes need to be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to balance both academic and athletic responsibilities. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand collegiate athletes’ perceptions of motivation through a qualitative design based on Self Determination Theory (SDT). Ten collegiate athletes who competed at the NCAA Division I level in a variety of sports were interviewed for this study. Three meaningful themes emerged and from the interview data: (a) Support, Resources, and Challenges for Collegiate Athletes, (b) Athletic Identity Influences Unbalanced Motivation, and (c) Importance of Culture, Coaches’ Leadership, and Environment. Specifically, collegiate athletes were satisfied with their institutions’ support, but most participants showed unbalanced motivation towards their dual roles within athletics and academics. Additionally, theoretical and practical implications for sport researchers, practitioners, and coaches are provided within this study.

Athlete Identity, Resilience, Satisfaction with Life and Well-Being of Para Badminton Players: A Multinational Survey.

To explore regional differences (i.e. Europe, Asia and others) in the well-being of para-athletes and its potential psychosocial determinants, including the Athletic Identity Measure Scale (AIMS), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The study was a cross-sectional survey using data from multinational badminton federations. The study participants were athletes registered in the Para Badminton Classification Master List of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The main study outcome is the WHO Quality of Life-Disability Questionnaire (WHOQOL-DIS). There were 1,385 (aged 36 years old, IQR 18 years old) registrants on the master list. Respondents totaled 170. Only 137 (65% were males) were included in the analysis after excluding those with missing data (Europe 40%, Asia 30%, others 30%). Following the results of factor analysis, the original Athletic Identity Measure Scale (AIMS) was separated into self-identity (SI) and AIMS-modified. SI, AIMS-modified, the BRS and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were all scored above average. The AIMS-modified scores of Europeans were significantly lower than those of other non-Asians (U = 757.000, P < 0.05). BRS was statistically higher among those with acquired disabilities (median: 3.33) compared to those with congenital disabilities (median: 3.0) (U = 1,717.000, Z = -2.711, P < 0.05) and among Europeans (median: 3.3) compared to Asians (median: 3.0) (U = 704.500, P < 0.05). The regression model explained 32% of the variability in quality of life (QOL) with five significant predictors. The SWLS (β = 0.307, P = 0.01), BRS (β = 0.269, P = 0.01), full-time employment (β = 0.191, P = 0.05) and being female (β = 0.162, P = 0.05) all had a positive effect on QOL, but not the AIMS (-0.228, P = 0.05). The results show that the athletes' resilience, satisfaction with life and identity vary across regions. Furthermore, satisfaction with life, employment and gender were found to be significant predictors of athletes' QOL.

Mind or Medal: Elite Athletes’ Mental Health Management in Sports Events

There is a conversation in American athletics over the mental health experiences of athletes. Elite athletes encounter consequences ranging from mental well-being to mental illness. Some experts are concerned health of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games athletes. The proliferation of research on elite athletes’ mental health culminated in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Expert Consensus Statement. Given the importance of athletes’ mental health, this case study reviews the literature and the relevance of athletic identity to the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of poor mental health and fills the gap in theory/research and practice in elite sport.

‘Yet, they didn’t sign me’: the production of precarity in amateur and semi-professional football in Nigeria

This paper investigated how the experiences of precarity are produced in amateur and semi-professional football in Nigeria through qualitative interviews with former amateur and semi-professional footballers. Though a few studies have highlighted the precarities that football career aspirations produce among West African youth, the mechanisms through which such precarious experiences develop remain loosely articulated. This paper fills this gap. The findings revealed that precarious experiences emanate from an overbearing athletic identity, a disconnect between imagined mobility through football and actual opportunity, institutional failures, and corruption and exploitation. The policy implications include a need for a framework for dual career and life after football programme in amateur and semi-professional clubs, centred around information, health education and skills training, as well as institutional and regulatory reforms for better governance of the sector.

Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in athletes: Beyond athletic identity, are positive personality variables important for understanding well-being in student-athletes?

The present study examined the role of optimism and hope as predictors of subjective well-being and psychological well-being in a sample of 203 student-athletes participating in competitive sport. Results from conducting a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated athletic identity (e.g., encouragement from others, competence) accounted for unique variance in all indices of both subjective and psychological well-being. Moreover, independent of athletic identity, the set of positive personality variables, namely, optimism and hope, was found to account for additional unique variance in all indices of well-being. For all indices of well-being, optimism was found to be a significant predictor. Similarly, hope agency, but not hope pathways, was found to be a significant predictor for most of the indices of well-being examined. Taken together, the present findings are not only among the first to be based on the assessment of well-being in athletes using a range of different indices of both subjective and psychological well-being, but they are the first to demonstrate the importance of integrating the study of optimism and hope for understanding well-being in athletes.

“Is it Hard Out Here for a Player?”: Understanding the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Athletic Identity Among College Student Athletes

It is unclear what impact, if any, early experiences with trauma may have on athletic identity. Athletic identity may serve as a protective shield for those who have adverse childhood experiences. Self-identifying as an athlete as opposed to the identity that experienced the trauma could be a defense mechanism for self-protection. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and athletic identity as well as determine any influence from gender, ethnicity, and sport in a group of college athletes. Using Qualtrics software, 102 collegiate athletes currently enrolled in higher education institutions across varying NCAA divisions within the United States completed three measures: Personal Data Form, Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), and Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey (ACES). Results found adverse childhood experiences were not significantly associated with Athletic Identity. However, results did show a difference between men and women, with a significant relationship between adverse childhood experiences and athletic identity in men but not women. Upon further examination, it was found that for men, consideration of ethnicity in conjunction with gender highlighted an even stronger relationship among Black men specifically. Implications for these findings, suggestions for university athletic departments, and recommendations for future research were made.

‘Hanging up the boots, picking up the whistle’: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the player-to-coach transition in elite football

Athletes encounter a complex decision-making process when it comes to their athletic retirement. While some athletes step away from their sport entirely, others opt to pursue a coaching career within it. Recent pedagogical research has revealed the ubiquitous nature of this phenomenon within the elite academy setting. However, despite the prevalence of this coaching pathway, there remains a lack of literature concerning this unique career transition within sports psychology. By providing nuanced and textured accounts of the transition from athletic retirement to the elite coaching environment, this study sought to broaden our understanding of the lived-experience of the player-turned-coach in elite football. The subsequent study used semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to collect and analyse the first-hand accounts of elite academy coaches who were former professional footballers in the EPL and EFL. Interpretation of the coaches’ own sensemaking allowed us to derive meaning through hermeneutic methods based on Heideggerian philosophical traditions, while convergent and divergent themes were revealed by applying an idiographic approach. The phenomenological, hermeneutic, and idiographic aspects of this investigation serve to underpin the epistemological and ontological tenets of the methodology applied in this study. IPA was chosen as a means of better understanding the perspective of coaches who have experienced this unique journey and how they navigated the re-negotiation of their athletic identity whilst simultaneously developing their coaching philosophy. Phenomenological methods view the participant as the “expert”; therefore, no hypothesis is required. However, we hoped to ascertain: [1] how the athletic identity carries over into coaching philosophy; [2] whether this linear transition mitigates the sense of loss often associated with athletic retirement; [3] how returning to coach at the club in which they developed influences the independent formation of beliefs and practices; and [4] whether there is a risk of perpetuation of practice, as clubs favour their former players over outside candidates. This study sought to understand the lived experience of the player-to-coach transition and aimed to provide insight into this process to better facilitate the athletes and coaches on either side of this phenomenon.

Athletic identity affects prevalence and disclosure of emotional abuse in Finnish athletes.

The present study offers novel insight into the topic of experienced and observed emotional abuse by researching factors that affect athletes' responses to emotional abuse by coaches. The research aimed to explore three main questions: (1) whether athletic identity was associated with the prevalence of emotionally abusive coaching practices, and (2) disclosure of emotional abuse, and (3) whether demographic variations existed in the frequency of emotional abuse, athletic identity, and disclosure of the abuse. Study participants who filled in an anonymous digital survey consisted of athletes from elite to leisure levels living in Finland (N = 3687, aged 12-80, gender 61% female, 37.7% male, 0.8% other genders). The research findings highlighted three key insights. Firstly, Pearson correlations revealed that a salient athletic identity was related to a higher prevalence of emotional abuse. Secondly, ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests between-groups indicated that particularly children were susceptible to the abuse. Thirdly, a mediation analysis showed that self-identity (aspect of athletic identity) influenced the relationship between experienced emotional abuse and disclosure, by reducing disclosure. As a result, holistic identity development is recommended for athletes and particularly children in sports.

Predictors of Concussion Symptom Reporting Intention among Collegiate Athletes.

Underreporting of concussion symptoms in college athletics presents a challenge for sports medicine clinicians in evaluating and diagnosing such injuries. Some athletes do not report concussion symptoms because they do not recognize that they have a brain injury, however many athletes intentionally withhold symptoms to avoid removal from sport participation. To examine individual factors that influence college athletes' intentions to report concussion symptoms. Cross-sectional study. Collegiate athletics. 2,649 student-athletes from 23 sports, across 22 colleges/universities. The primary outcome was intention to report concussion symptoms. Predictor variables included demographics (age, race/ethnicity, sex, sport type, number of years in sport, number of previous concussions, and perceived concussion symptom knowledge), athletic identity, attitudes toward symptom reporting, perceived social pressure (injunctive and descriptive norms), and perceived behavioral control (capacity and autonomy). Hierarchical ordinary least squares regression revealed positive effects of attitude (b = .063; P = .005), descriptive norms (b = .131; P < .001), injunctive norms (b = .107; P < .001), and capacity (b = .196; P < .001) on intention to report symptoms. Athletic identity and participation in collision sports had small negative indirect effects on intention, while perceived concussion knowledge had a small positive indirect effect. The full regression model explained 14.24% of the variance in concussion reporting intention. These findings may help clinicians develop more focused interventions that address key social and individual determinants of underreporting, including attitude, injunctive and descriptive norms, and capacity to report. Athletic identity, sport type, and perceived understanding of concussion symptoms also influence reporting intention to a lesser extent. Previous research in this area has often failed to address a diverse population of college-age athletes from different sports and NCAA divisions.

Factors that influence mental health and well-being of high-performance athletes from Olympic or Paralympic sport who have transitioned out of national-level or international-level sport: a mixed methods approach

Transitioning out of elite sports can be a challenging time for athletes. To illuminate the gaps and opportunities in existing support systems and better understand which initiatives may have the...

Does Ultra-Endurance Passion Make Athletes Happy?

Sport psychology research of ultra-endurance (UE) athletes focused predominantly on their psychological characteristics, traits, and behaviors. However, their happiness and passion, as well as a unified framework for UE hobby phenomenon, were not sufficiently investigated. This study aims to: (1) identify the main contributors to happiness and passion of non-professional UE athletes; and (2) explore the possible relationships between types of sport passion, motivation, and athletic identity. During data collection, 116 non-professional UE athletes (mean age 43.66 years, SD = 8.97, 16.4% female) responded to an online questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed that obsessive UE passion (p < 0.05) and amotivation (p < 0.05) predicted lower levels of happiness. A higher level of obsessive passion was predicted by extrinsic motivation (p < 0.005), amotivation (p < 0.05), and exclusivity identity (p < 0.001); a lower level was predicted by social identity (p < 0.05) and years in sports (p < 0.05). Weekly training hours and age correlated positively with passion strength, while amotivation was strongly negatively related to training volume. These results indicate that happiness of UE athletes depends on the type of sport passion formed and the quality of the underlying motivation: obsessive passion and amotivation seem to be the main enemies of happiness for UE athletes. This novel finding connecting passion, happiness, and motivation contributes to both a better understanding of the psychology of UE athletes and has practical implications for UE athletes, coaches, athletes' social circles, and sport psychologists. Due to known maladaptive outcomes of obsessive passion, including its negative impact on overall well-being, health, and now also on happiness, its formation in UE athletes needs to be observed and prevented. While the study shows predictors of obsessive passion and high vs. low obsessive passion, future research should investigate how harmonious passion impacts athletes' happiness, motivation, and identity. Likewise, research among the UE entourage would help to better understand the social impact of UE as a serious hobby and the formation of UE lifestyles. We also suggest our Temporal Framework for Progressive UE Engagement and Passion, which was further developed based on the results of this study, to be used and validated by sport psychologists.

"I shouldn't just hide in the darkness": youth and parent experiences in wheelchair sport

ABSTRACT Disabled youth derive health, social belonging, enjoyment, and well-being from participating in sports, much like their nondisabled peers. This narrative inquiry study explored wheelchair sport experiences and the meaning ascribed to sport participation among youth with orthopedic impairments and their parents or guardians. Using a multi-case study, narrative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three youth athletes and their parents. Thematic analysis shed light upon the participant narratives of social belonging, self-beliefs, and identity development experienced by the youth participants and their parents within the context of wheelchair sport. The first theme, ‘wheelchair sport as a community,' portrayed the wheelchair sport event as a highly inclusive setting that enabled strong social acceptance and emotional support. The second theme, ‘moving from frustration toward confidence in sporting contexts,' captured ambivalent emotive moments experienced during sport participation, particularly those related to perceived physical abilities. While the final theme, ‘athletic identity in wheelchair sport,' depicted the youth participants' individual journeys toward athletic identity development. Based on these lived experiences and perceptions, participants' stories illustrate the social, physical, and psychosocial benefits and challenges of wheelchair sport participation. The study concluded that youth wheelchair sport can be a meaningful avenue for social interaction for disabled youth and their families, positive self-concept regarding one's body and abilities, and pro-athletic identity beliefs. Further, introductory events to wheelchair sport must be carefully planned and implemented to create an enjoyable and low-stakes opportunity for novice wheelchair sport athletes to explore their relationships with physical activity and sporting culture.

Adolescent Athletes with Stronger Athletic Identity Perceptions Have Weaker Fear Avoidance Perceptions During Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation Return to Sports Preparation.

Adolescent athletes who sustain a musculoskeletal sports injury are at high re-injury risk. This prospective study evaluated athletic identity perception and fear avoidance perception relationships during the return to sport preparation phase of musculoskeletal injury rehabilitation. From 140 consecutive physical therapy outpatients, 50 (26 females, 24 males) adolescent athletes (mean age 16.8, range 14 to 22 y) completed the 7-item Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), the 10-item Athletic Fear Avoidance Questionnaire (AFAQ), and the AFAQ with 2 additional movement-related fear and pain questions (AFAQ+). Correlational analysis was performed of overall AIMS and AIMS subscale scores (social identity, exclusivity, negative affectivity), with AFAQ and AFAQ+ scores ( P ≤0.05). Adolescent athletes were receiving treatment for musculoskeletal injuries sustained during soccer (n=10), lacrosse (n=7), baseball (n=6), basketball (n=5), volleyball (n=5), track or cross country (n=4), American football (n=4), field hockey or ice hockey (n=3), softball (n=2), tennis (n=2), and gymnastics (n=2). Lower extremity conditions included anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (n=23) or other lower extremity conditions (n=17). Upper extremity conditions included shoulder dislocation or labral repair (n=6), elbow sprain or fracture (n=3), and clavicle fracture (n=1). The AIMS score displayed moderate inverse relationships with AFAQ ( r =-0.40, P =0.008) and AFAQ+ ( r =-0.41, P <0.004) scores. The "social identity" AIMS subscale score displayed a moderate inverse relationship with AFAQ ( r =- 0.48, P <0.001) and AFAQ+ ( r =-0.46, P =0.001) scores. The "exclusivity" AIMS subscale score displayed moderate inverse relationships with AFAQ ( r =-0.40, P =0.005) and AFAQ+ ( r =-0.46, P =0.001) scores. The "negative affectivity" subscale did not display significant relationships with AFAQ or AFAQ+ scores. Subject age displayed moderate inverse relationships with the AIMS "social identity" ( r =-0.56, P <0.001) and "exclusivity" ( r =-0.42, P =0.004) subscale scores and weak direct relationships with AFAQ (r=0.30, P =0.04) and AFAQ+ (r=0.32, P =0.02) scores. Adolescent athletes with stronger athletic identity perceptions during the return to the sports preparation phase of musculoskeletal injury rehabilitation had weaker fear avoidance perceptions. As age increased from early to late adolescence, athletic identity perceptions became weaker, and fear avoidance perceptions became stronger. To decrease re-injury rates, early identification and surveillance of injured adolescent athletes with stronger, more exclusive athletic identity perceptions and weaker fear avoidance perceptions may influence rehabilitation progression and return to play decisions. Level-II, prospective cohort, correlational study.

The adapted French version of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS-FR): Evidence of validity and reliability and relationships with sport well-being.

Effectively managing their athletic and academic projects is a major challenge for student-athletes. The salience of the identity they develop in each of these contexts can affect their well-being and is therefore an important variable to consider. Examining these mechanisms in countries and student-athlete support systems other than the United States is also important. This study aims to both translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of a French version of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale, the AAIS-FR, and to examine the additive and interactive relationships of the two identities with sport burnout and engagement. Participants were 359 French student-athletes (50.42% female) who were competing at various levels (ranging from regional to international). Results from analyses using a slightly modified version of the original scale provided evidence of construct (i.e., factor structure) and concurrent (i.e., expected relationships between both identities and several correlates identified in previous work) validity, as well as reliability (i.e., internal consistency) and invariance across gender and sport competition levels of the AAIS-FR. In addition, regression analyses revealed a favourable relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being (i.e., positive with engagement and negative with burnout), no relationship between academic identity and sport well-being, and no interaction between the two identities. While further research is needed to provide additional evidence for the validity of the AAIS-FR, researchers can still use this tool to measure the salience of the two identities of French-speaking student-athletes.

Children With Cerebral Palsy's Experiences With Adaptive Climbing: A Qualitative Study on Parents' Perspectives.

Interest in adaptive sports for children with cerebral palsy (CP) is growing, but current evidence on the benefits and indications for one sport, adaptive climbing, is limited. We sought to describe perceived changes observed by parents of children with CP who participated in adaptive climbing. Parents whose children with CP participated in 5 or more adaptive climbing sessions were eligible to participate and were emailed a recruitment letter and flyer. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, using a moderator guide. Interviews were transcribed and content analyzed, with data grouped into concepts, categories, and themes until data saturation. Ten parents (9 mothers, 1 father) of 10 children with CP (5 girls, 5 boys; ages 7 to 19 years) were interviewed for 15 to 45 minutes each, yielding 4 themes. First, parents perceived that adaptive climbing challenged the children physically (in reach, balance, strength, and head/neck and lower limb motion); second, that it sharpened children's cognitive skills (in focus, problem-solving, and strategic thinking); third, that it raised children's confidence (socially, physically, and emotionally); and fourth, that it expanded children's sense of what they could do (in mastering a challenge, claiming an athletic identity, and participating in a sport like their peers). In this qualitative study, parents described physical, cognitive, and psychosocial benefits of adaptive climbing for their children with CP. These descriptions can be used to inform future studies of children with CP who participate in adaptive climbing.

Identifying links between athletic identity and risk factors related to youth sport participation.

The development of identity formation occurs during adolescence through experiences, ideals and principle. With greater accessibility to sports, recent trends have shown increased rates of sports specialization over the past decade in youth athletes. Athletic identity measures the strength an individual is tied to the athlete role and can be formed in conjunction to adolescent identity formation. More specialized youth athletes may have stronger ties to their athletic identity during their adolescent identity formation period. Youth basketball athletes were surveyed on specialization levels and athletic identity via the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), including three submeasures: social identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity. Participants showed stronger identification to social identity items and the weakest identification with exclusivity items. Athletes reporting more time spent playing their primary sport presented higher scores across all measures of athletic identity, and total athletic identity was stronger in athletes reporting specialization at an earlier age. Exclusivity and negative affectivity tended to increase with specialization level which may primarily be driven by specialized athletes choosing to quit non-primary sports. Athletic identity may be worth noting as a psychological indicator of potential risk of injury. The long-term goal of this work is to provide the research and clinical community a greater understanding of a potential psychosocial risk factor as youth athletes continue specializing and spending more time training in a singular sport.