This study has examined the aspect of psychological care for the injured athlete at the Division 1A collegiate level. The specific areas examined were those of the mental impact of injury, services available, potential barriers, funding, and referrals. An additional aspect of this study that was examined was differences between conferences in the psychological care practices of the injured athlete. It was found that the largest barrier to successful psychological rehabilitation of the injured athlete was athlete compliance, despite support from others and available services. No significant differences were found to exist between conferences and the psychological care of the injured athlete. / School of Physical Education

M.Phil. (Sport Management) / This study is strengthened by several studies that have indicated that the dualist nature of student-athletes is problematic, as well as the management thereof. The study aimed to identify the sociological implications of the main aspects affecting the optimal sporting career development in athletics (throwers) at University of Johannesburg Sport, and offers recommendations for managing student-athletes. The methods utilized for this study included: i) self-designed questionnaires which incorporated information such as biographical data, performance level, satisfaction levels of support services and, ii) a qualitative case-study on the University of Johannesburg athletics club, where interviews were held with representatives selected as part of a purposive sample. Data was collected over a period of one year, with 15 current athletes, 5 retired athletes, and service providers within the University of Johannesburg. The research design allowed for input, throughput and output analyses. To determine the rationale of the input and throughput phases, qualitative and quantitative data were integrated for the identification of trends and major themes. Twelve of the 20 student-athletes participated internationally during their tertiary student-athlete years, whereas 14 out of the 20 student-athletes participated at regional level during their in primary school years, demonstrating a relatively lengthy and intense socialisation process. The qualitative research revealed that the main social agents during the primary and secondary school years are the parents, teacher-coach and peers, where the attention swifts to professional agents (including the coach) and fellow athletes during the tertiary phase. There is an increasing need for scientific and academic support at tertiary level with major issues around time, career and life style management. During the (often) final socialisation or specialization phase, most student-athletes face multiple career challenges without receiving adequate guidance or scientific support towards desocialisation.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the differences and relationships in male and female coaches assessment of coachability traits. Subjects were twenty-five male and twenty-five female coaches, The testing included a paired comparison of ten coachability traits, Data were analyzed by a Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation and analysis of variance. The conclusion of this study was that the two groups of subjects are very similar in the selection of coachability traits.

The purposes of the study were (1) to determine if differences exist between the self concepts of female intercollegiate starting and substitute athletes and between members of team and individual sports and (2) to determine if a significant relationship exists between coaches' ratings of an athlete and the athletes' self concepts. Subjects were forty-five college women who met the established criteria. The testing instrument was the Tennessee Self Concept Scale. Data were analyzed by the two-way analysis of variance method and the Spearman Rank Order Correlation. Alpha was .05. Conclusions of the investigation were that (1) the self concepts of athletes in basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, and badminton are not significantly different, and (2) the coaches' ratings of athletes and athletes' self concept ratings are not significantly related.

Eating disorders are prevalent among female athletes, particularly those involved in lean sports, which put greater emphasis on a slim physique. Because of the negative --- physical and emotional consequences associated with disordered eating, it is essential that such behavior be detected and treated early. However, it may be difficult to identify symptoms of disordered eating among female athletes, perhaps due to perfectionism. Individuals scoring high in perfectionism may be more self-critical of mistakes and thus more likely to conceal such behavior. The present study combined the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) with the Athletic Mileu Direct Questionnaire (AMDQ), in an effort to determine whether the combined use of a perfectionism and disordered eating inventory would better identify those at risk for disordered eating. Both questionnaires were compared to the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and results indicated that both AMDQ and FMPS scores correlated positively with EDE global scores. Type of sport did not result in a significant correlation with disordered eating scores, although potential explanations are discussed.

Academic stress and the causes of such stress are subjects that are found in very few studies concerning student-athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study is to determine how the following variables relate to academic stress and perceived stress either through correlations or differences--demographics, academic classification, major or field of study, athletic scholarship status, and season of sport (in- season/ out of season). An online questionnaire containing a Perceived Stress Scale and a Perception of Academic Stress scale were distributed to 151 student-athlete participants at a university in the southwest United States. The results indicated that biological sex has a significant relationship to perceived stress. No other variables were found significant to perceived stress or academic stress.

Retirement from sport can be difficult for athletes. Physically, retirement is associated with challenges such as weight gain, muscle loss, and degradation of physical skills. Psychologically, retirement has been linked to increased identity confusion, depression, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating. Research shows that exercise is a way athletes cope with stressors such as psychosocial pressure and retirement. However, exercise is positively correlated with psychological well-being for some individuals, whereas for others exercise is associated with increased levels of depression, anxiety, and body dissatisfaction. Reasons for exercise behavior, as well as the type of exercise in which someone engages, may explain the contrasting psychological outcomes of exercise. I examined perceived societal pressures, exercise, and reasons for exercise in relation to the psychological well-being (i.e., depression, satisfaction with life, body satisfaction) of 218 college female athletes who had been retired from 2-6 years. Through regression analysis, I examined the extent to which the predictors were related to each measure of psychological well-being, controlling for BMI and years since retirement. For life satisfaction (Adj. R2 = .08), exercising to meet potential romantic partner was significant (β = -.158). Higher levels of depressive symptoms (Adj. R2 = .15) were predicted by exercising to improve appearance (β = .198) and feeling pressure to exercise (β = .212). For body satisfaction (Adj. R2 = .42), exercising to prevent illness/injury (β = .197) and to prepare to compete in sport competitions (β = .141) were associated with the increased body satisfaction, whereas a higher BMI (β = -.193) and exercising to improve appearance (β = -.167) were related to decreased body satisfaction. Future research might address psychological predictors immediately post retirement, as this is when retirement may be more stressful.

Retirement from elite sport can be highly distressing for athletes, and many athletes report elevated depression and anxiety or body dissatisfaction when going through this transition. Factors that may be important in determining a higher level of adjustment in retirement include feeling in control of when and how retirement occurs, planning occupationally for after sport, and having achieved sport goals. Thus, we examined how such factors related to former female collegiate athletes (N = 218) satisfaction with life, depression, and body satisfaction. Two to six years post retirement, athletes completed an online questionnaire that measured their satisfaction with life, depressive symptomatology, and body satisfaction; retirement factors were measured by the 12-items from the BALANCE scale. Through regression analyses, we examined the extent to which each of the 12 retirement factors is related to life satisfaction, depression, and body satisfaction; time since retirement was unrelated to these outcomes. Future research might address the transition immediately following retirement utilizing these factors that appear most influential.

Athletes may be at increased risk for developing disordered eating and pathogenic weight control behaviors due to pressure for their bodies to look a certain way and perform at a high level (Sundgot-Borgen & Torstveit, 2004). Petrie and Greenleaf (2013) proposed a psychosocial model to explain the development of athletes’ disordered eating behaviors. Specifically, they suggested that unique weight/body pressures of the sport environment, general societal pressures about attractiveness, internalization of societal appearance ideals, body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, negative affect, and dietary restraint combine and contribute to the development of bulimic symptomatology. The aim of the current study is to test the Petrie and Greenleaf model in a large, nation-wide, diverse sample of male collegiate athletes. Participants were male collegiate athletes (N = 731; Mage = 19.91, SD = 1.50) representing 17 sports and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisions I, II, and III. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and measures designed to assess their experiences of the above constructs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the pathways proposed in the Petrie and Greenleaf (2013) etiological model. Results suggest that sport pressures, such as those from coaches and teammates about weight, the importance of appearance, and looking good in a uniform, are significant factors in understanding disordered eating among male collegiate athletes. These pressures were related directly to all other variables in the model, including increased body dissatisfaction, experiencing more negative emotions, restricting caloric intake, and engaging in behaviors to increase muscularity. In the end, it was these variables – negative affect, drive for muscularity, dietary restraint, and body dissatisfaction– that explained over 30% of the variance in the athletes’ bulimic symptomatology.

The present study was an attempt to provide data which would serve as a basis for distinguishing between group patterns of winning and losing basketball teams, in terms of personality profiles and interpersonal group structures.