Identity and athletic retirement: A prospective study

Author: Lally, P.

Description: Objective: The purpose of this study was to reexamine the relationship between identity and athletic retirement using a longitudinal, prospective design.

Method: One-on-one, in-depth interviews were conducted with three male and three female university student athletes at three times: at the outset of their last season of competition, approximately 1 month after their retirement, and approximately 1 year later. The unstructured raw data was analyzed inductively following procedures established in the literature.

Results: The findings revealed the participants committed themselves strongly to their athletic goals and anticipated disrupted identities upon retirement. As a result, they employed several coping strategies including the proactive diminishment of their athletic identities prior to retirement. Decreasing the prominence of their athletic identities precluded a major identity crisis or confusion upon and following athletic retirement.

Conclusions: The study concludes that the redefinition of self long before sport career termination may protect one’s identity during this transition process.

Subject headings: Role withdrawal; Role disengagement; Identity hierarchy; Role distancing; Situated identity; Prospective; Self-protection; Student-athlete; Athletes; Retirement

Publication year: 2007

Journal or book title: Psychology of Sport and Exercise

Volume: 8

Issue: 1

Pages: 85-99

Find the full text : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029206000264

Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=4489914085772711536&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en

Type: Journal Article

Serial number: 630