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Methods
Quoted text:
We used reflexive thematic analysis to examine data generated from our participant interviews.
Accordingly, to ensure we enabled participants to take these broader dimensions of identity into consideration when thinking about their retirement experiences, we introduced them to a new program, More Than Sport.
Translation:
The researchers had the retired athletes complete an online course, More to Sport, educating them on the psychological effects of their time during competitive sport and how to think about their next stage of life after sport. This allowed participants to reflect on their experiences, their relationship to their identity during prime athletic participation, and how their identity shifted since that major part of their life came to a close. The researchers then used qualitative analysis of their participants’ interviews and identified themes and conclusions around their research questions.
Introduction
Quoted text:
Athletes experience multiple transitions in their careers, but retirement is among the most impactful on their health and wellbeing. For instance, research shows that identifying strongly as an athlete can compromise mental health, resulting in increased depression and anxiety symptoms in retirement (e.g., Giannone et al., 2017; Roberts et al., 2023). Arguably, then, an identity-informed theoretical analysis has the capacity to extend our understanding of identity-specific processes that contribute to successful negotiation of life change.
Translation:
Athletes face many challenges and obstacles as they grow from an adolescent developing athlete to the pressure of being on an elite stage, injuries, time sacrifices, and everything in between. What has affected athletes’ mental health most is their transition to retirement. Past research has proven that athletes who solely identify as an athlete and do not see their worth outside of athletics can struggle with mental health. Research now is trying to trace patterns and steps to better prepare athletes psychologically for life after sport.
Results
Quoted:
Three core themes were developed, reflecting (a) the role played by personal and social categorizations of athletic identity, (b) adjusting to identity loss, and (c) the importance of “remooring” identity in enabling athletes to be more than their sport. A common thread was gaining a sense of self-continuity.
Translated:
From their analysis, several main themes were prevalent among all the participants including how their social relationships and environments affected their long term identity as an athlete. Secondly when their sport was no longer the focus in their life, how they felt a part of them was taken away. A large theme was figuring out their new interests, passions, values, and taking their same determination, skills, or lessons learned as an athlete into future aspects of their life.
Discussion
Quoted text:
In this way, retirement entailed not just a loss of a sense of ‘me’ that was unique to themselves as individuals but also a loss of a sense of ‘we’ and ‘us’ (and the dedication, mutual respect, and pride that goes along with this). Here the minority of respondents who defined themselves primarily through their sport, reflected in nostalgic terms on their inability to let go of this identity and find a new meaningful identity. Their failure to find somewhere new to moor their sense of self stunted their identity development in retirement
Translation:
Not only do retired athletes lose the daily workouts, routine of their sport, high level competition, etc. they also are no longer with the same coaches, teammates, fans, or same social interactions with the community they were a part of for so long. The athletes that were not able to let go of those parts of their lives and discover new interests, struggled in finding their new identity. They did not recognize that the values and beliefs that shaped them as athletes were also part of their broader identity and could be carried forward into other areas of their lives.
Future Directions
Research on creating resources that can help with the transition from being a world class athlete to life post competition should continue to be worked on. Encouragement for athletes to build identity outside of athletics sooner and earlier on in life. I would also be curious to look into research of young athletes under 18 and how kids are specializing into their specific sport sooner and getting more and more competitive early on. How this affects their mental health, development, and future. I believe this research can also be used to support other social and environmental transitions between different groups of people (ex: university students, cultural groups, etc.)
Difficult Material
Some of the psychological theories used in the research were difficult to understand without doing my own research on those theories. Within their discussion talking about self-categorization theory, social identity approach to health, and social identity model of identity change.