Athletic Identity Research Articles

ATHLETE IDENTITY AND COMMON BENEFITS AND BARRIERS TO SPORT PARTICIPATION AMONGST ADOLESCENT SLED HOCKEY PLAYERS

Background:The physical, psychological, and social benefits of sports participation in adolescents have been well reported in the able-bodied population. However, those with physical disabilities encounter many barriers to participating in sports, which limits access to these benefits. Additionally, due to their disabilities, these individuals are often not viewed as athletes by the general population and therefore may not identify as one themselves. Purpose:Our study seeks to use qualitative research techniques to identify the themes influencing adolescents’ participation in sled hockey and determine their identity as athletes. Methods:Cross-sectional qualitative interview. Our IRB approved study recruited athletes at sled hockey practices and tournaments where interviews were moderated and transcribed. Transcriptions were coded according to common themes mapped in Figure 1. Results:We surveyed 19 youth sled hockey players (range 10-24 years old, mean 15.3) with multiple physical disabilities, the most common diagnosis being spina bifida (14) (Table 1). Our qualitative analysis identified the most prevalent themes that influence participation in adaptive sports to be: social factors, intrapersonal factors, motivators to start sport, access, physical and mental health, and athletic identity (Figure 1).Initial motivators to start involvement included encouragement from parents, role models, adapted sports organizations, healthcare providers or personal interest in the sport itself. Despite the perceived medical and financial barriers, support from teammates and funding assistance in purchasing equipment facilitated continued involvement.Our population also reported many perceived benefits to continued participation in adaptive sports, each reporting “having fun” while playing a sport they “love”. Other benefits were connecting with friends of similar disabilities and capabilities, who encourage them, serve as role models, and make them feel included. Furthermore, the mentorship the coaches provide, pushing the athletes to achieve, creates an atmosphere of competitiveness and a feeling of physical and mental wellbeing. Ultimately, this competitive environment allows for formation of an athletic identity, reported by 18 out of the 19 interviewees. Conclusions:Despite encountering barriers to participating in a team sport that requires expensive equipment and travel and negotiating the limitations of physical disabilities requiring frequent medical procedures and time away from sport, the overpowering benefits of participation allow majority of our adolescent population to thrive and to identify as athletes. Among the main facilitators to continued involvement are mentorship and support from coaches and parents, comradery and competition, all which lead to physical and mental wellbeing and feeling of inclusiveness and accomplishment.Figure 1:Coding map illustrating the results of analysis: Themes and subthemes that influence participation in adaptive sports.

Exploring the Link between Athletic Identity, Self-compassion, Communication, and Mental Toughness of Table Tennis Student- Athletes

Table tennis student-athletes should be mentally tough as they train and perform under extreme pressure. It is essential to identify other mental skills that will aid mental toughness development. Accordingly, the study focused on assessing athletic identity, self-compassion, and intra-team communication. The relationship between the constructs was also explored. A multi-part questionnaire was fielded to 230 college student-athletes participating in table tennis singles event. Findings indicate high levels of athletic identity and intra-team communication among the participants; while moderate levels for self-compassion and mental toughness. Structural equation modeling revealed the dynamic relationship between the constructs. On one hand, self-compassionate participants who highly recognize their role as athletes, and communicate with the team are more mentally tough. On the other hand, uncompassionate self-responding lead student-athletes to become mentally weak. The study provides useful insights for practitioners in designing mental skills training geared towards optimal functioning and psychological wellness of young athletes.

‘Pain that hides’: poetic envisionment and the impact of COVID-19 on a runner’s final college season

ABSTRACT When one college athlete's final track season is canceled due to COVID-19, he returns to his family farm to process a lost season with poetry. The author examined how a senior college athlete from the Midwest communicated the impact of COVID-19 on his final season of competition while quarantined on his family farm through envisionment building [Langer, J. A. (2015). Envisioning knowledge: Building literacy in the academic disciplines. Teachers College Press] during poetic inquiry sessions [Faulkner, S. L. (2019). Poetic inquiry: Craft, method and practice. Routledge; Fitzpatrick, K. (2017). Poetry, poiesis and physical culture. In M. Silk, D. Andrews, & H. Thorpe (Eds.), Routledge handbook of physical cultural studies (pp. 515–527). Routledge; Richardson, L. (1992). The consequences of poetic representation: Writing the other, writing the self. In C. Ellis & M. G. Flaherty (Eds.), Investigating subjectivity: Research on lived experience (pp. 125–140). Sage; Richardson, L. (2000). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 923–948). Sage; Sparkes, A., & Smith, B. (2011). Inhabiting different bodies over time: Narrative and pedagogical challenges. Sports, Education and Society, 16(3), 357–370]. The poetry read and written during the final four weeks of the spring 2020 collegiate sports season shows the athlete moving across Judith Langer's envisionment stances with authors of sports-themed poetry as guides in revisiting memories, people, and themes of a college sports career. The findings highlight the potential benefits of reading and writing poetry as athletic identity exploration. The author encourages athletic directors, coaches, and athletes to consider using poetic inquiry as an arts-based method to support student-athletes negotiating critical events, relationships, and identity that include cognitive and affective dimensions of sport.

Development and Preliminary Validation of a Sport-Specific Self-Report Measure of Identity Foreclosure

A sport-specific, self-report measure of identity foreclosure was developed through a systematic process that included item pool generation, expert review, administration of items to a development sample of intercollegiate student athletes (N = 326), item evaluation, and administration of scales to validation samples of intercollegiate student athletes (N = 322, N = 54, and N = 64, respectively). The process yielded two four-item scales reflecting commitment to the occupational identity of athlete and one 4-item scale reflecting active exploration of roles other than that of athlete that (a) are internally consistent and temporally stable, (b) demonstrate preliminary factorial and convergent validity, and (c) can be used to create indices of identity foreclosure tailored to the sport context. The resulting Sport-Specific Measure of Identity Foreclosure has potential utility as an assessment tool for research and practice with athletes.

Meta-Study

ABSTRACT Meta-study is a method for analysing the content and the process of knowledge production in a body of qualitative research. Conducting a meta-study involves four steps: (1) meta-data-analysis which involves the study of empirical findings; (2) meta-method which examines the epistemological soundness and rigour of methods; (3) meta-theory which examines the structures, assumptions, and principles underpinning the primary research studies; and (4) meta-synthesis which brings the three steps together and considers the plausibility of existing accounts, what has been neglected, and what new avenues have been opened for advancing knowledge. Qualitative researchers in sport and exercise psychology (SEP) have recently started using meta-study to examine bodies of qualitative research in various areas including positive youth development, junior-to-senior transition, athletic identity and mental toughness development. Our review shows that meta-study has been a useful method for demonstrating how methodological developments have influenced how qualitative researchers apply methods and conceptualise the phenomena of interest. However, there have been diverse applications of meta-study and, in the absence of recent updates on the method, meta-study is in danger of remaining underdeveloped or becoming outdated. Based on the review, we outline guidelines for SEP scholars to employ meta-study rigorously.

Comparing Mental Health of Athletes and Non-athletes as They Emerge From a COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown.

Athletes going through transition periods such as injury or retirement have previously reported feelings of depression and anxiety, especially when feeling unsupported. Cessation of competitive sport during the pandemic has forced athletes through a non-normative transition and has reduced many opportunities to satisfy their basic psychological needs increasing the risk of poor wellbeing and loneliness. Whilst athletes are often praised for their resilience—a trait that serves to support them during tough times—the inability to play sport can be particularly challenging for those with strong athletic identities. An online cross-sectional survey (n = 744) was conducted to capture adult athlete and non-athlete mental health factors (specifically wellbeing, depression, anxiety, loneliness) during emergence from a COVID-19 lockdown. Results showed that resilience was positively correlated with mental health but was no higher in athletes than non-athletes. Furthermore, athletes reported greater anxiety than non-athletes, a difference mediated by negative affectivity—a subfactor of athletic identity. We present evidence that after a temporary transition away from sport, athletes' resilience is comparable to non-athletes leaving them just as likely to suffer poor mental health. Moreover, athletes with strong athletic identities are likely to experience anxiety symptoms above and beyond those reported by non-athletes. Findings have implications for the development of self-management guidance for athletes as the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on sport participation continue.

HOW TO NOT BE A GOOD SPORT: SOLUTIONS TO CHAL- LENGES OF TRANSITIONING OUT OF AN ATHLETIC CAREER

Sports culture often leads athletes to believe that having an athletic career is akin to “living the dream”. This belief results in a particularly stressful and demoralizing transition from sports to retirement. This research paper sought to further analyze retirement from sports and how one’s athletic identity can be disadvantageous when tied to a short-lived career. The literature was reviewed across the domains of psychology, sports science, and sociology. This review was supplemented with The Art of Life by Zygmunt Bauman and transcribed interviews and surveys of athletes. Athletic identity is more intense and encompassing of one’s self-concept than identities associated with other occupations, which in turn leads to a more emotionally difficult retirement, particularly when forced. Furthermore, athletes with stronger and more exclusive athletic identities may face more psychological difficulties in retirement, and common coping strategies among retiring athletes appear to be maladaptive. The prestige that comes with athleticism can also be disadvantageous, as an athlete may base their self-esteem on momentary fan support. Athletes often foreclose their identity, fixating idealistically on their sport and precluding themselves from pragmatically exploring or developing alternate identities. Athletes must be encouraged to think pragmatically about their future and plan for their post-retirement life while they are playing. Athletes must also have involved support systems that are themselves supported and that the athlete can confide in while constructing a new self-narrative. Therefore, while retirement from sports is undoubtedly difficult, effective strategies in aiding an athlete’s transition do exist and must be utilized.

‘I wouldn't do anything differently ... Although I won't let my child go in that direction’ Successful Hungarian Olympians’ understandings and experiences at the close of elite sport careers

Whilst the relationship between sport-related success and its effect on the identity of athletes has been acknowledged, less attention has been paid to understanding this relationship from the perspective of the individual. Elite sport follows the logic of individualism, competitiveness, and productivity, while elite athlete performance is depicted as being a remedy for society’s ills by empowering control over health and serving as a good example for future generations. This dualism is reflected in the viewpoints of elite athletes: in their experiences, reflections, and memories. The aim of this paper is to formally examine through Hungarian elite athletes’ experiences how elite sport is related to components of the athletic identity and their potential impact on individual sustainability. Results show (1) how essential the role of coaching is in elite athletes’ careers, (2) how sport is seen as a protective shield, indicating the importance of life-long career planning, and (3) that there is cognitive dissonance regarding the identity of elite athletes.

‘We Are Equal but Different’: Challenging Compulsory Heterosexuality by Intersexual Female Athletes in the World of Sport

By using the method of Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA), this article examines how sport is a conservative institution so far as sexuality and gender identity of female athletes are concerned. The article enquires to know what it means for a sportswoman to be physically strong and active like a man. It explores how the process of binary sex segregation in competitive sports affects the non-heterosexual female athletes and how their sexuality and physicality are considered as a foil in the patriarchal domain of sports. It highlights how the ‘gender verification test’ as a discriminatory tool is used by the sports regulatory bodies to prove female athletes’ sexuality, especially heterosexuality and to maintain the system of patriarchal hegemony in the world of sport. The article looks into how the hegemonic masculinity within sport works to uphold male power, while subjugating the female athletes. It unveils the incidents, how the non-heterosexual female athletes fall victims of homophobia and go through mental stress to confirm to the societal norms of compulsory heterosexuality. More specifically, through in-depth analysis of two contemporary cases of intersexual hyper-androgenic female athletes, this article examines the status and challenges being faced by the non-heterosexual female athletes in sport and focuses upon how their sexuality are addressed in the field of competitive sports. The article also focuses on the agony as well as resilience of intersexual female athletes to break the gender stereotype in sport in postmodern era unlike before.

Negotiating the Funhouse: CrossFit Women and the Looking Glass Athlete

While there have been dramatic increases in women’s participation in sport and physical activity following the implementation of Title IX in the United States, many women still face challenges negotiating societal expectations of femininity with the muscularity developed through exercise. In this study, the authors used focus group interviews with 47 women who participate in CrossFit to explore how female athletes understand their developing athletic identity through social interactions. Even as the participants expressed high levels of self-confidence and personal growth, which they attributed to their instrumental involvement with CrossFit, their discussions of what other people think of their nontraditional fitness activities and concomitant body changes were a constant source of frustration. Using the identity-building framework of Cooley’s theory of the looking glass self, the authors find that women are faced with not merely reflections, but distorted funhouse mirrors; reflections that are heavily warped by gendered patriarchal societal norms. Surrounded by an array of potentially confusing and distracting “funhouse” mirrors, these female athletes used CrossFit’s local and expanded community, as well as their own burgeoning self-efficacy, to navigate their changing bodies and identities.

Fragmenting Feminine-Athletic Identities: Identity Turning Points During Girls’ Transition into High School

This study employed a turning point analysis to document events that influence the development of athletic identities in female athletes transitioning into high school. All participants ( N = 28), between the ages of 14–15 years old, belonged to a competitive club soccer team located in the southwestern United States. Through an analysis of pre- and post-season interviews and bi-weekly video journal entries, data revealed several fragmenting turning point events related to participants’ athletic identity development. These fragmenting turning points paired with the communication theory of identity (CTI) framework highlighted three identity gaps: (a) athletic-relational, (b) athletic-communal, and (c) athletic-enacted. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed regarding turning points in relation to athletic identity development and gender disparities in sport participation.

“I’m a hurler … basically just a hurler”: a mixed methods study of the athletic identity of elite Irish Gaelic Athletic Association dual career athletes

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the manifestation of the unique cultural backdrop of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (the historical and political underpinnings of the GAA; the promotion of elite GAA athletes as amateurs despite the increased professionalism in the sports; the significance of the club culture in the GAA) in the athletic identity of elite GAA dual career athletes (DCAs). A mixed methods research (MMR) design was adopted using quantitative and qualitative elements. Elite GAA DCAs (n = 9) representing the sports of hurling and Gaelic football simultaneously completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) and engaged in semi-structured interviews. Athletic identity data were analysed from the completed AIMS and semi-structured interview data were analysed using a 6-step thematic analysis as per Braun et al. (2016). Eight of the DCAs measured “high” on the AIMS and athletic identities were largely reflective of the elite athlete performance narrative in line with the increased professionalism in the sports. The impact of the club culture in the GAA was evident particularly in the public athletic identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity dimensions of athletic identity. The niche cultural backdrop of the GAA was manifest in all four dimensions of athletic identity in elite GAA DCAs, with the impact variable on an individual basis. This, along with the prevalence of an elite athlete performance narrative in the expression of their athletic identity needs to be considered regarding DC engagement and support.

Factors influencing acceptance of transgender athletes

ABSTRACT This study examined factors influencing acceptance of transgender athletes in sport events. Quantitative data were gathered from 373 Japanese university student-athletes. We investigated contributions of two types of predictors. One is the context in which trans athletes are placed; the other involves survey respondents’ psychological constructs that may influence their reaction to the issue. The results show that trans men were more accepted than trans women, trans athletes with hormone treatment were considered more acceptable, and trans athletes were more accepted in unofficial sporting events for children and adults than in official national and international events. The results also revealed that for respondents with weaker athletic identity, higher degrees of belief in a just world were positively associated with attitudes of acceptance. Whereas stronger athletic identity was positively associated with acceptance for men, it was negatively associated with acceptance for women. Considering the different nuances surrounding transgender issues in Japan, our study will add cultural diversity to research literature that has mainly focused on the contexts of North America and Western Europe.

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Athletes.

This study explored the influence of athletic identity and sports participation on the psychological well-being of athletes during a pandemic. The objective of the study was to understand the psychological impact of the coronavirus lockdown measure on athletes who were not able to carry out their normal daily routine. Athletes from nine different sports completed an online survey during the sixth week of the total lockdown in Nigeria. The online survey consists of an athletic identity scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Data collected were analyzed using Multiple regression and the Mann-Whitney test at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the findings revealed that category of sports (individual and team) (M = 0.73, β = −6.116) and athletic identity (M = 59.16, β = −0.166) predicts psychological distress to some degree. Few individual sports athletes and athletes with low athletic identity are prone to higher levels of psychological distress than team sports athletes and athletes with high athletic identity during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Individual sports athletes reported elevated levels of psychological distress compared to team sports athletes (z = −2.186, p = 0.03, r = 0.27). In conclusion, the results have confirmed that some athletes competing in individual sports experience elevated levels of psychological distress during the coronavirus pandemic, therefore they need the support of a sports psychologist during such periods to help in maintaining their psychological well-being.

Is There a Reformation Into Identity Achievement for Life After Elite Sport? A Journey of Identity Growth Paradox During Liminal Rites and Identity Moratorium.

Athletes’ identity development upon retirement from elite sport was examined through a model of self-reformation that integrates and builds on the theoretical underpinnings of identity development and liminality, while advancing seven propositions and supporting conceptual conjectures using findings from research on athletes’ transition out of sport. As some elite athletes lose a salient athletic identity upon retiring from sport, they experience an identity crisis and enter the transition rites feeling in between their former athletic identity and future identity post-sport life, during which a temporary identity moratorium status is needed for identity growth. Given the developmental challenges encountered in moratorium and psychosocial processes necessary to establish a new, fulfilling identity for life after elite sport, we identified key conditions, triggers, and processes that advance how a journey of identity growth paradox experienced during liminality serves as a catalyst toward identity achievement. Elite athletes must be encouraged to persevere in this challenging identity search and delay commitments for as long as it is necessary to achieve identity growth despite experiencing uncomfortable feelings of confusion, void, and ambiguity during the liminal phase. Reforming into an achieved identity for life after elite sport would corroborate the successful navigation of transition, as elite athletes evolved into a synthesized sense of self by cementing, through a negotiated adaptation pathway, constructed identity commitments that will provide new beginnings and meaningful directions to their life after elite sport.

Athletic identity and sport commitment in athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction who have returned to sports at their pre-injury level of competition

BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the relationships between athletic identity and sport commitment and return to sports (RTS) status in athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).MethodsThirty-nine participants post-ACLR (8–24 months) were included in this cross-sectional study. Measures included the athletic identity measurement scale and sport commitment scale. In addition, we measured kinesiophobia and psychological readiness using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia and ACL-Return to sport after injury scale. The subjects were categorized into Yes-RTS or No-RTS based on two questions to determine whether they were returning to sport at the same level of competition as before the injury. A Chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, unpaired t-test, and Mann-Whitney’s U test were used to analyze the data.ResultsThe Yes-RTS group had significantly higher scores on the athletic identity measurement scale (P = 0.023, effect size [ES] = − 0.36), sport commitment scale (P = 0.027, ES = − 0.35), and ACL-Return to sport after injury scale (P = 0.002, ES = − 0.50) and significantly lower Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia scores (P = 0.014, ES = − 0.39) compared to the No-RTS group.ConclusionAthletes who returned to sports at the same level of competition as before the injury had higher athletic identity and sport commitment and lower kinesiophobia compared to those who did not return to sports at the same level of competition. These self-beliefs regarding sport may play an important role in post-ACLR athletes’ RTS.

Investigating correlates of athletic identity and sport-related injury outcomes: a scoping review

ObjectivesTo conduct a scoping review that (1) describes what is known about the relationship between athletic identity and sport-related injury outcomes and (2) describes the relationship that an injury (as...

Sport-to-School Spillover Effects of Passion for Sport: The Role of Identity in Academic Performance.

There is a theoretical and empirical basis that suggests that passion and identity are interrelated and that they can cross the achievement domain in influencing outcomes. Using a sample of student-athletes (N = 187), the first purpose of this study was to examine whether academic identity and athletic variables (athletic identity, harmonious and obsessive passion for sport) can predict academic performance and persistence. The second purpose was to determine whether these relationships are invariant across sex and first-generation status. Academic outcomes were positively predicted by academic identity and negatively predicted by athletic identity. Harmonious and obsessive passion for sport were both negatively related to academic performance indirectly through athletic identity. Harmonious passion also was a weak positive predictor of academic persistence. The identified relationships were largely invariant across sex and first-generation status. Findings suggest that both academic and athletic variables can predict academic outcomes.

Psychological risk profile for overuse injuries in sport: An exploratory study

ABSTRACT Overuse injuries account for a substantial part of sport injury incidence among athletes of various sports and levels. Despite the gradual onset of symptoms, athletes often persevere in training and competing. The present exploratory study aimed to identify a psychological risk profile for overuse injury. One hundred and forty-nine athletes competing in various sports responded to a range of questionnaires measuring the following psychological variables: negative life stress, perfectionistic concerns, perfectionistic strivings, athletic identity, and the coach-athlete relationship. Participants subsequently answered the OSTRC Overuse Injury Questionnaire on a weekly basis during a 10-week period. Using a latent profile analysis, athletes were classified into three latent profiles regarding their psychological characteristics. Athletes in the second profile, characterized by a combination of high athletic identity, perfectionistic concerns and negative life stress and poor coach-athlete relationship, were found to be significantly more often affected by overuse injuries (74% of the time) than individuals in the two other profiles (52% and 48% of the time, respectively). In conclusion, psychological factors may contribute to the risk of overuse injuries through complex interactions (i.e. accounting for interdependencies within a specific configuration of variables) rather than through their independent influences.

Examining the impact of weight bias on the association between exercise identity and maladaptive exercise behaviors

ObjectiveThough exercise behaviors are typically viewed as health-promoting, certain forms of exercise (i.e., excessive exercise, unhealthy muscle-building behaviors) are considered maladaptive and are associated with negative physical and psychological outcomes. Psychosocial factors may put people at greater risk for engaging in maladaptive exercise. Based on deviance regulation theory, weight bias was examined as a potential moderator of the association between exercise identity and both excessive exercise and muscle-building behaviors. DesignThe current study is a secondary analysis of a larger data set investigating associations between athletic identity, exercise behaviors, and disordered eating behaviors. Hypotheses were examined using moderation testing in multiple linear regression. Main outcome measuresParticipants (N = 225, 50.2% female) completed the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory as a measure of maladaptive exercise. ResultsControlling for sex, age, athlete status, and body mass index, weight bias moderated the association between exercise identity and both excessive exercise and muscle-building behaviors. Among individuals with high exercise identity, higher weight bias was associated with increased maladaptive exercise behaviors. ConclusionIndividuals with higher exercise identity and higher weight bias may be at greatest risk of engaging in maladaptive exercise. Preventive interventions for maladaptive exercise behaviors may consider targeting exercise identity and weight bias.