Sport Retirement Research Articles

The Effect of Athletic Identity and Other Factors on Adaptation to Sport Retirement

Sport retirement is a major life transition that student-athletes must navigate successfully to achieve adaptation to post-sport life. Numerous factors dictate the likelihood of successful adaptation, one of which is athletic identity. Based on thorough review of the occupational retirement literature, it has been determined that adaptation can be measured by life satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how athletic identity impacts present-day life satisfaction and if meaning in life mediates that effect. Meaning in life can be separated into two categories, the presence of and search for meaning in life. Through a quantitative survey of 104 former Division I student-athletes, we discovered significant relationships between the search for and presence of meaning in life and life satisfaction. No relationship was found between athletic identity and life satisfaction. Thus, retrospective athletic identity does not predict present-day life satisfaction unless the mediating effect of the search for meaning in life is present. Additionally, group differences were measured between sexes, type of sport played (e.g., draft eligible or non-draft eligible), and predictability of retirement. There were significant differences on the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale between males (M = 36.1, SD = 7.9) and females (M = 32.1, SD = 7.8), t(100) = 2.55, p = .01.

Examining barriers and reasons for sport retirement in women's soccer: A qualitative study

The present research aimed to 1) examine the barriers that interfere with the progression of women's soccer and 2) analyze adult women's reasons for abandoning the practice of federated soccer. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology, with 14 semi-structured interviews of female national category soccer players, was used. The results of the inductive content analysis suggested that the players' main reasons for quitting sports were incompatibility or lack of time, lack of group cohesion within the sports context, and individual demotivation. Knowledge of these results may be of great interest to the sport environment. Thus, the people in charge could promote different strategies to improve sports and personal situations.

An Examination of Sport Retirement Through Concept Analysis of Occupational Retirement

Occupational retirement is a major life transition that involves extensive planning, preparation, and coping strategies. Concept analysis was completed to explore adaptation to occupational retirement as a way to further understand sport retirement. Thirty-nine occupational-related articles were included in the final analysis. The primary antecedent to occupational retirement is financial stability, followed by age and family life. Antecedents to sport retirement include graduation, exhaustion of NCAA eligibility, and possibly injury. The antecedents are unique to each type of retirement, but the consequences are similar. Retirees of both types often experience feeling of loss, grief, depression, and identity crisis while adjusting to the change. Achieving adaptation to the life transition of retirement can be enhanced by forming identities outside of work and sports, viewing the change as a gain rather than a loss, and preparing for retirement. Additionally, through this analysis, tools to measure quality of adaptation to occupational retirement were discovered. These tools could be applied to sports in future research.

La Carrera Dual Del Estudiante-Deportista A Través Del Emprendimiento Deportivo Orientado A La Tecnología: Percepción De La Retirada Deportiva Y Necesidades De Aprendizaje En Función Del Género Y El Nivel Educativo

La Carrera Dual Del Estudiante-Deportista A Través Del Emprendimiento Deportivo Orientado A La Tecnología: Percepción De La Retirada Deportiva Y Necesidades De Aprendizaje En Función Del Género Y El Nivel Educativo

Towards a critical consideration of the effects of coaching practice on athletic retirement: a poststructuralist perspective

ABSTRACT Dominant understandings of sports retirement have tied problematic outcomes to individual characteristics and the circumstances of an athlete’s exit from sport. In recent years, sociologists have problematised these readings, providing new ways of thinking about retirement transitions, experiences, and relationships. This area of research considers how an exposure to normalising arrangements of power might produce challenging responses to athletic retirement. Accordingly, scholars have drawn upon Foucauldian theory to reveal how the disciplinary logic of modern coaching can impact upon retirement experiences. However, there remains limited empirical research exploring the effects that the approaches, attitudes, and practices of coaching practitioners may have upon retirees’ post-athletic lives. Developing poststructuralist analyses of athletic retirement, this paper seeks to stimulate a further consideration of the retirement process within coaching research. Specifically, this ‘new horizons’ paper does so by advocating for a broader empirical exploration into the connection between sports coaching and sports retirement.

Career transition in intercollegiate athletes with above average athletic identity: A qualitative analysis of transition experiences, coping, and the role of religious faith

ABSTRACT Athletes with high athletic identity (AI) experience difficulty with sport retirement (Menke & Germany, 2019); yet qualitative research is lacking on their transition experiences. Moreover, athletic and religious identities may intersect during transition, but little is known on this topic. Current participants were 72 former intercollegiate athletes (69.4% female; Mage = 22.6 years), with above average AI. Thematic analysis on participants’ responses regarding transition experiences yielded higher-order categories of Losses and Difficulties. Participants coped by Filling the Void and Managing Challenges. Themes were compared across high (HRF) and low religious faith (LRF) subgroups. HRF participants most often used Physical Activity to cope while LRF participants Maintained Sport/Competitor Identity. More HRF than LRF participants reported Loss of Identity. Results are discussed using social identity theory and the model of adaptation to retirement among athletes as theoretical frameworks. Suggestions are provided for practitioners to prepare athletes with higher AI for transition.

Injury incidence and characteristics in adolescent female football players: A systematic review with meta-analysis of prospective studies.

To observe overall, training, and match injury incidence in female youth football. We also aimed to quantify the incidence of injuries by affected tissue and body location. The following databases were examined: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane and PEDro. Papers that reported overall injury incidence, training or match injury incidence were included. Additionally, studies had to be performed in adolescent female football players (13-19 years of age). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the checklist of items that must be included in epidemiological football reports were used to assess methodological quality of the included articles. For the meta-analyses, a random effect model was used. A total of 13 studies were included. There were 2,333 injuries; incidence was higher during games (12.7/1000 h) compared to training sessions (2.3/1000 h). The injury match-to-training ratio was 5.8. The lower limbs were the region in which the greatest number of injuries occurred, with the ankle (1.2/1000 h) and knee (0.8/1000 h) having the most injuries. In relation to injured tissue, ligament injuries represented an incidence of 1.3/1000 h, followed by muscle injuries (0.9/1000 h). This study represents the first step towards the creation and implementation of preventative measures in female youth football. The results suggest that attention should be focused on ankle and knee injuries, since they are the most frequent and can lead to sport retirement in some cases depending on the severity.

‘Falling Upward’ into Sports Retirement: A Rohrsian Exploration of the Sports Retirement Experience

Retirement from sport is widely reported as a challenging time of transition in the lives of elite athletes and is one that has been explored from a range of different perspectives both by sport psychologists and socio-cultural scholars of sport. However, of late, a small number of scholars have considered athlete career transition within the context of religion and spirituality, identifying the religious identity and belief of athletes as central to their transition experiences. That said, this work does not go as far as developing a theological understanding of sports retirement. Here, we explore and frame the phenomenon of sports retirement through the theological lens put forward by the neo-Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr in his book Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. In this paper, we suggest how Rohr’s ideas might help develop an alternative and more nuanced understanding of sports retirement, building on those currently promoted in sport psychology and the sociology of sport the literature.

Reasons for sports discontinuation: a retrospective analysis of the physical activity in medical students

Objective: to study the prevalence of school sports activities and the reasons of retirement from sport among first-year medical students.Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 851 students (577 girls and 274 boys) entered Medical School in the period of 2016-2022 using the questionnaire data.Results: 79.9 % boys responded positively on the question about their past physical activities and sport in comparison with 71.1 % girls (р = 0,0064). At the time of the survey 257 students had retired from sport (40,9 % of all young men involving into sport during school time), more frequent among girls compared with boys (46,6 % and 30,1 % respectively, р = 0,0001). Injures and diseases led to early retirement from sport in 13.2 % of students. The most common reason of sports retirement was other reasons (more than 50 % of students), while the lack of sports success occurred 11–18 times rarer, as were physical difficulties in endurance of sport activities. 34,2 % of the respondents retired from sport noted some health disorders at the questioning moment, the rate of them was significantly higher than among students continuing sport trainings. The same results were obtained in the quantity of subjective health complaints (р < 0,05 for both genders). Correlation analysis revealed that both past (r = 0,10) and present (r = 0,12) physical activity increased the health level (р < 0,05) and also reduced the M. Luscher color test index (r = -0,069 и r = -0,098 respectively).Conclusion: Health disorders remain the common problem among first-year students, however sports activity increases the health level and decreases the psychoemotional strain. Sports injury and health disorders were among the most frequent and differential causes of retirement from sport.

Athletes are not at greater risk for death by suicide: A review.

Suicide represents a major mental and public health issue. Elite athletes share certain individual and environmental characteristics that may increase their risk for mental illnesses, ultimately leading to suicide. This notion conflicts with the general perception of athletes, being the healthiest representatives of society. A comprehensive literature search was carried out through PubMed and Embase databases for relevant publications. Recent calls for investigating suicidality among athletes resulted in a considerable amount of literature providing some evidence regarding lower rates of suicide among professional and high-performance athletes as well as similar incidence and prevalence of mental conditions, which are known as risk factors for suicide. Nevertheless, special attention is required in this population as predisposing and precipitating factors might differ from classical features of suicidality in the general population. Sports physicians, sports psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals in elite sports should be aware of early signs of affective disorders, risk of recreational drug abuse, misuse of performance-enhancing medications, sport-specific environmental stressors, serious physical injuries, and presence of physical or mental illness, all of which may increase suicidality. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is with suicide with higher severity correlated with increased risk. Compared to active athletes, former athletes may have higher rates of suicide due to common life stressors occurring after sports retirement. The findings suggest a multidisciplinary approach to suicidality in elite athletes, the main goal of which should be the reduction of suicide-related morbidity and mortality. Further research is required to clarify the existing gaps in the current knowledge of the issue. While having lower rates of suicide, athletes share some similar (affective disorders, drug abuse, mental and physical illness) and unique factors (misuse of performance-enhancing substances, sports-related stressors, sports injuries, TBI) putting them at risk of suicide during active career and retirement.

Biopsychosocial Experiences of Elite Athletes Retiring From Sport for Career-Ending Injuries: A Critically Appraised Topic

Injuries cause individuals varying amounts of time loss from participation, which may depend on injury and sport-specific factors such as level of participation. Athletes who never return to sport either choose or are forced to retire due to numerous factors. At elite levels of play, when an athlete chooses retirement, they have the opportunity to create and execute a retirement plan; however, if unexpected (eg,due to career-ending injury), athletes may struggle to transition out of sport effectively, impacting physical, mental, and social health. The biopsychosocial model looks at the relationship between biology, psychology, and socio-environmental factors. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to better understand the biopsychosocial experiences elite athletes face after a career-ending injury so that sport stakeholders can develop and implement strategies to support a healthy transition. How does suffering a career-ending injury affect elite athletes' biopsychosocial experiences during retirement from sport? All studies found that a career-ending injury negatively impacted athlete's biopsychosocial health during the transition period. In addition, social support was identified as a positive coping mechanism and research highlighted the role of education in promoting successful transitions. Sport stakeholders should educate athletes regarding the importance of creating secondary plans. By creating a culture of athletic and nonathletic identity, athletes can feel empowered to navigate different phases of their life despite transition being forced upon them due to injury. Career-ending injuries negatively impact the biopsychosocial experiences of elite athletes as they transition out of sport. Athletes may face many transitional challenges including a loss of identity, a lack of external support, and/or mental health decline; those more closely identifying with their role as an athlete tend to have a harder transition. Therefore, it is important for all athletes to be adequately prepared for sport retirement, especially given the uncertainty about when and how retirement may occur. Collectively, the body of evidence included to answer the clinical question aligns with the strength of recommendation of C.

“After the Dust Settles”: Foucauldian Narratives of Retired Athletes' “Re-orientation” to Exercise

One aspect of sports retirement that has been overlooked until recently is the manner in which retired athletes relate to, and seek to redefine, the meaning of exercise in their post-sport lives. In this article, three Foucauldian scholars present and analyze a series of vignettes concerning their own sense-making and meaning-making about exercise following their long-term involvement in high-performance soccer (authors one and two) and distance running (author three). In doing so, this paper aims to underline the problematic legacy of high-performance sport for retiring athletes' relationship to movement and exercise, and to highlight how social theory, and Foucauldian theorization in particular, can serve to open new spaces and possibilities for thinking about sports retirement.

The effect of SARS-COV-2 on senior college athletes’ retirement considerations

ABSTRACT While there are studies that qualitatively examine athletes’ retirement experiences post retirement [e.g. Lavallee & Robinson, 2007. In pursuit of an identity: A qualitative exploration of retirement from women's artistic gymnastics. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8(1), 119–141; Torregrosa et al., 2015. Olympic athletes back to retirement: A qualitative longitudinal study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 21, 50–56; Tshube & Feltz, 2015. The relationship between dual-career and post-sport career transition among elite athletes in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 21, 109–114; Warriner & Lavallee, 2008. The retirement experiences of elite female gymnasts: Self identity and the physical self. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(3), 301–317], a unique opportunity was presented during the COVID-19 pandemic to gather data from NCAA Division II baseball players who faced potential involuntary sport retirement at roughly the same time for the same reason, thus eliminating multiple variables that are common in athlete retirement research. This study aimed to explore the experiences of senior college athletes using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data analysis revealed that while the college athletes reported experiencing negative cognitive and emotional responses, they also identified positive aspects of this unexpected situation, thought of others during this unprecedented time, and remained future-oriented. Although there is still more to learn about the impact of sudden sport retirement on athletes, this exploration offered optimism that some athletes can be surprisingly resilient when faced with unexpected adversity at the end of their athletic careers.

Mental Health Aspects of Voluntary and Involuntary Sport Retirement.

Sports participation is an important factor in the mental health of athletes. A change in sports participation affects athlete mental health, in addition to other components of the athlete's life, including overall health and fitness, future career plans, current and future financial status, and available social network. Athletes should be encouraged to develop balanced lives that involve rewarding activities outside their sport. Clinicians should evaluate the mental health of athletes leaving sport for any reason, develop protocols to address any concerns, and assist with postsport career and life planning.

Exploring former NCAA Division I college athletes’ experiences with post-sport physical activity: A qualitative approach

Researchers have found that former collegiate athletes (FCAs) exhibit unfavorable changes in physical and mental health later in life, which may be exacerbated by physical inactivity following retirement from college sport. Despite past sports training, FCAs are as active or less active than non-athlete alumni, with some not meeting the current Physical Activity (PA) Guidelines for Adults. Researchers suggest promoting PA in FCAs to prevent future health concerns (e.g., worsening body composition, physical function, depression). Prior to intervention development, a deeper understanding of FCAs’ experiences with PA post-sport and program characteristics they consider effective is warranted. Seventeen insufficiently active former National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences with post-sport PA and perceptions of effective program characteristics. Using Consensual Qualitative Research Procedures, five domains were constructed. This manuscript overviews the first three of these domains, which pertain to participants’ experiences with post-sport PA: (a) transitional lifestyle shifts that affected PA behavior; (b) barriers affecting PA choices and behavior post-sport; and (c) enablers affecting PA choices and behavior post-sport. All FCAs discussed needing a break to physically and mentally recover following sports retirement. Participants identified similar barriers to being active (e.g., time constraints, resource availability) following this break to those reported by non-athletic populations. Furthermore, FCAs prioritized activities they enjoyed, were influenced by past sports participation, and made them “feel” healthy and included in a group. Translating cognitive-behavioral strategies utilized to enhance sports performance may be viable in promoting PA maintenance in this population post-sport-retirement. Lay summary: Seventeen former college athletes (FCAs) participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences with physical activity (PA) post-sport and perceptions of PA promotional factors. Recognizing barriers, enablers, and transitional experiences regarding PA represents a critical step in developing effective PA interventions for FCAs. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Former Division I college athletes indicated their population is susceptible to similar PA barriers faced by non-athletic adult populations. Cognitive behavioral strategies demonstrated to be efficacious in other adult populations may benefit FCAs. Many cognitive behavioral strategies used to enhance sports performance for athletes in college are applicable to PA promotion outside of sport. Mental performance consultants (MPCs) who work with this population may consider transferring the use of these strategies to focus on PA promotion in athletes transitioning out of sport. Former Division I athletes indicated completing exercise over general PA to attain long-term health benefits, but lacked solid goals that could guide their behavior. Focusing on cognitive-behavioral strategies that maintain exercise behavior may be the most viable way to improve long-term health and activity levels. As such, multi-disciplinary teams involving MPCs and exercise professionals may be warranted.

스포츠 은퇴불안 척도 개발

본 연구는 스포츠 은퇴불안 척도를 개발하는 데 목적이 있다. 운동선수 293명(남자: 168명, 여자:125명)을 대상으로 예비조사, 개방형 설문, 문항분석 및 탐색적 요인분석을 실시하였다. 대학부 운동선수 17명에게 예비 조사를 실시하였다. 예비 조사 결과를 토대로 개방형 설문지를 개발하였으며, 대학부 운동선수 75명에게 온라인으로 배포하였다. 수집된 자료를 활용해 귀납적 내용분석을 실시하였다. 이 과정에서 연구자는 스포츠심리학 박사과정 2인과 함께 삼각검증법을 실시하였다. 그 결과, 스포츠 은퇴로 인한 부정적 생각은 원자료 110개, 세부영역 10개, 일반영역 2개로 나타났다. 스포츠 은퇴로 인한 부정적 기분 또는 느낌은 원자료 91개, 세부영역 25개, 일반영역 7개로 나타났다. 귀납적 범주화 자료를 활용해 스포츠 은퇴불안 척도를 제작하였다. 운동선수 출신 스포츠심리학 교수 3인에게 내용 타당성을 평가받은 후 8요인 32문항으로 수정하였다. 본 설문은 대학부 및 실업부 운동선수 201명에게 온라인으로 배포하였다. IBM SPSS 21을 활용해 문항 분석 및 신뢰도 분석, 탐색적 요인분석을 실시하였다. 통계분석 결과, 스포츠 은퇴불안 척도는 3요인 16문항으로 나타났다. 구체적으로 진로걱정 6문항, 은퇴우울 7문항, 운동 아쉬움 3문항으로 나타났다. 본 연구에서 개발한 척도는 운동선수의 은퇴불안 상태를 보다 체계적으로 측정하고, 운동선수의 진로발달을 도모하기 위한 참고자료로 사용될 것이다.

How Many Concussions Would It Take for Athletes to Choose to Discontinue Participation in Their Primary Sport?

The process by which athletes decide to continue or discontinue sport participation after concussion has not been explicated. Intercollegiate and club sport athletes (N = 394) completed an online survey that included assessments of demographic factors, the total number of concussions (and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears) that would prompt sport retirement, concussion history, and athletic identity. On average, participants reported that they would retire from their primary sport after sustaining 3 to 4 concussions (and approximately 2 ACL tears). The total number of concussions reported was negatively correlated with the number of additional concussions it would take to precipitate sport retirement. Athletic identity was positively associated with the number of concussions that participants with a history of one or more concussions reported would prompt them to retire from their primary sport. The results provide information of potential utility to professionals implementing concussion education programs and working with athletes at risk of experiencing concussion.

Health outcomes among former female collegiate gymnasts: the influence of sport specialization, concussion, and disordered eating

ABSTRACT Objective: Gymnastics is a popular sport with high injury rates, especially at the collegiate level. There is limited evidence, however, regarding the risks of early specialization in this sport, the rate of concussions in gymnasts, and the long-term effects of disordered eating in gymnasts. We sought to describe health-related outcomes of former collegiate gymnasts and the association with early sport specialization, concussion history, and disordered eating. Methods: We distributed an online survey through social media outlets. A total of 473 former female collegiate gymnasts completed the survey and were grouped according to early (<14 years) specialization, presence or absence of concussion history, and history of disordered eating. We determined the number of participants who had time-loss injuries, injuries requiring surgery, and injuries resulting in retirement. We also evaluated menstrual history, reasons for sport retirement, functional outcome measures, and mental health. Results: The median age of gymnastics specialization was 8 years [interquartile range = 6–11 years]. The proportion of injuries sustained during college did not significantly differ by specialization age. A significantly greater proportion of early specializers required surgery for college sports-related injuries (60% vs. 44%; p = 0.02). Forty-two percent of the respondents reported concussion history, and a greater proportion of those with concussion history reported seeking mental health treatment during college (32% vs. 23%; p = 0.03), and anxiety disorder diagnosis (16% vs. 9%; p = 0.01). Disordered eating history was reported by 34% of the respondents, and this group had a higher proportion of time-loss injury (78% vs 65%; p = 0.004), and osteoporosis (4% vs 0%; p = 0.003) during college, and worse current pain (11.5 vs 10.2; p = 0.007) and physical function (12.2 vs 11.0; p = 0.01) than those without disordered eating. Conclusion: Athletes and clinicians should be aware of the long-term effects of early specialization, concussions, and disordered eating in gymnastics as these issues are common in female collegiate gymnasts.

A Qualitative Examination of Sport Retirement in Former NCAA Division I Athletes

Statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of NCAA Division I college athletes will not continue in their sport professionally (NCAA, 2019). Therefore, there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of the variables that influence college athletes’ psychological health and well-being as they transition to retirement. The present study gathered detailed information about 15 former NCAA Division I college athletes’ retirement experiences four to five months post retirement. The findings suggested that the former college athletes had varied retirement experiences ranging from negative to positive. All college athletes who reported having a successful retirement transition described having at least one identified support group, stated they accomplished their athletic goals, indicated they had started pursuing other interests, and identified some positive aspects about their lives since retirement. Alternatively, the college athletes who reported having an unsuccessful retirement transition revealed they did not accomplish most of their athletic goals and struggled to identify any positive aspects about their lives since retirement. The findings of this study highlight the diversity in college athletes’ retirement experiences that can occur. Although there is still much more to ascertain about athlete retirement, this exploration into college athletes’ retirement experiences offers practical implications for athletes, coaches, practitioners, and those who want to provide support for a retiring athlete.

Reading John Grisham’s Bleachers with Foucault: lessons for sports retirement

ABSTRACT This paper has explored how a sociological reading of John Grisham’s short work of fiction Bleachers can shed light on the complexities of the coaching and sports retirement processes. The aim of this paper was to consider the “sociological insights” that Bleachers has to offer by reading the novel in companionship with the thoughts of French post-structuralist thinker Michel Foucault , specifically his disciplinary analysis from Discipline and Punish. This paper has also observed how the figure of Coach Eddie Rake in Bleachers can be considered as trope for retired athletes’ unresolved feelings towards their former sport. In achieving these aims, this paper has considered how Bleachers, when read through a sociological lens, can act as a meaningful data source for those invested in learning more about the poorly understood phenomena of sports retirement, as well as the dangers of coaching practices that are overly reliant upon the disciplinary logic of sport.