Athletic Identity, Career Maturity, and Subjective Well-being of NCAA Division I and III Football Players
Keywords:
athletic identity, career maturity, satisfaction with life, mood, subjective well-beingAbstract
Transitioning out of sport has major implications for athletes’ subjective well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine key factors that influence the transition process: athletic identity, career maturity, and subjective well-being in NCAA Division I and III athletes. Football players (N = 93) from Division I (n = 46) and III (n = 47) universities in years one to five of athletic participation completed a variety of measures. These included a measure of social desirability as well as the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, Career Decision Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Profile of Mood States. For this exploratory study, α was set at 0.10. Results indicated that Division I athletes tended to score higher on Athletic Identity, and athletes who were high in athletic identity at the Division I university tended to score lower in life satisfaction than those in Division III. In addition, Division I athletes reported significantly less desirable mood traits than those in Division III on the POMS as evidenced by significantly higher scores on the Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion subscales. These psychological differences between athletes in the two NCAA Divisions provide a synopsis of their subjective well-being and a foundation to guide athletes through the challenging process of transitioning out of sport.
Keywords: athletic identity, career maturity, satisfaction with life, mood, subjective well-being
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