Removing the vulnerability of a stereotype threat can weaken the stereotype’s negative influence. However, stereotype threats can be produced simply by reminding individuals of their stigmatized social identity. In this study, a typical explicit stereotype threat was compared with two types of reports on positive role models to determine whether the influence of stereotypes varied according to the type of report. In total, 178 college athletes were recruited and randomly assigned to the explicit threat group (EX group, n = 46), report on a special case group (RS group, n = 42), report on a general topic group (RG group, n = 46), or neutral report group (control, n = 44). The participants first read a short text with manipulated context. They then completed scales assessing career adaptability and optimism and were asked to choose whether to complete a scholastic test with high or low difficulty or not take the test at all. The career adaptability and optimism scores of the control group were higher than those of the RS and EX group. The career optimism scores of the RG group were higher than those of the EX group. Fewer participants opted for the difficult version of the scholastic text in the EX and RS groups; the majority of participants in these groups chose to not take any test. The results indicated the influence of negative stereotype threats and indicated that reading the news report on the special case did not have a positive and encouraging effect on the participants.

No description available.

This study sought to understand effective and ineffective instructional practices in clinical settings and to identify problem-solving strategies used by students and instructors. Three research questions were addressed: where in the undergraduate athletic training education program do students learn, or fail to learn, particular skills; "what instructional methods are of most worth" in teaching these skills, as perceived by the students; and what are the problem-solving strategies used by novice, experienced non-expert, and expert athletic trainers when confronted with novel situations. The subjects were nine students ("novices") and ten Approved Clinical Instructors (ACI's) from three programs in the Southeast United States. Five ACI's were categorized as "experienced non-experts" and five as "experts". All subjects were videotaped while performing various tasks. Each subject was required to think-aloud while they performed typical tasks expected of an entry-level certified athletic trainer, as designated by the NATA Education Council. Subjects then performed a stimulated-recall session, with analysis adapted from Ericsson and Simon (1993). The main findings of this study supported the well-respected teaching notion of "first teach them, then show them, then have them do it". Most concepts were first taught via lecture in the classroom; however, participants believed the "method of most worth" to be hands-on strategies displayed in clinical settings and labs. This study confirmed and disconfirmed aspects of prior research on problem solving. Experts: offered the most verbal comments, used their self-talk to stay on task, displayed intimate rapport with the models, and used various problem-solving strategies based upon the task at hand. Experienced non-experts: tended to drift in their verbal comments, felt the need to justify their answers, spoke mostly with verbal commands, and used several problem solving strategies. Novices: provided the fewest verbal comments, apologized throughout their sessions, often found the problem statement to be the problem itself, and used basic problem solving strategies. Demographics revealed that close relationships, balanced with manageable ACI's and clinical sites, created the most successful programs. Based on the findings of this study, future research must focus on how to best design the curriculum to take advantage of these "methods of most worth".

Assessment in athletic training education is an evolutionary process that is determined by each individual Athletic Training Education Program. The autonomy authorized by national accreditation standards allows academic programs to determine the appropriate assessment practices that facilitate the meeting of student learning outcomes. Even with autonomy, formative and summative techniques are to be employed in both the didactic and clinical arenas of athletic training education programs. The major objective of athletic training education is to prepare students for entry-level practice in athletic training. The purpose of this study was to assess interrater reliability of athletic training faculty and approved clinical instructors in their rating of athletic training student performance on four psychomotor skills. A total of 115 individuals participated in this study. Thirty two faculty and 83 approved clinical instructors completed the online survey The results of this study indicate that the overall reliability was high for the entire population as well as the subgroups analyzed. Even though the overall reliability was high, three specific criteria out of a total of 29 criteria had lower reliability scores. These findings may indicate that there may be a high degree of agreement between academic faculty and approved clinical instructors in the rating of athletic training students in their performance of psychomotor skills.

For most student-athletes, the termination of an athletic career is inevitable and coincides with graduation and transition into a non-sport career. Many student-athletes are unprepared for the transition and experience psychological and emotional difficulties that may interfere with mental health, wellbeing, and career development. The purpose of this study was to explore former NCAA student-athletes’ experiences of career development and transition into life after sport, with the aim to increase our understanding of the athletic transition experience, as well as the factors influencing the quality of transition. In addition, this study sought to contribute to practical recommendations for supporting student-athletes in transition. Using a convergent, exploratory, mixed-methods design, this study collected: 1) online survey data completed by recently graduated NCAA student-athletes (n=175), and 2) interview data from a subsample of survey participants (n=11). The online survey included measures of the constructs of athletic identity, transition quality, and career satisfaction, as well as participant demographic information. Semi-structured interviews were guided by questions concerning participants’ identity and career development in college, athletic transition experiences, and recommendations for supporting student-athletes. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling methods. Data analysis procedures were guided by Creswell and Plano Clark (2017) and Braun & Clarke (2006). A synthesis of the quantitative and qualitative results revealed three convergent findings related to the overarching interests of this study: 1) Highly Salient Athletic Identity May Negatively Influence the Quality of Athletic Transition, 2) Prevalence of Suboptimal Transition into Life and Work After Sport, and 3) Need for Increasing Transition Preparation and Career Development Support for Student-Athletes. A discussion of practical implications, significance of the findings, study limitations, and future directions for research were presented.

This study presents a systematic literature review of research evaluating components of athletic identity in participating NCAA Division I, II, and III athletes. Publications were gathered from six databases: APA PsycINFO, APA PsycARTICLES, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus. 26 records met the criteria for inclusion. Four themes were analyzed in the research: academic factors, demographic factors, sport-specific factors, and psychological factors. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are assessed, such as challenges associated with self-report instruments and benefits of employing a longitudinal research design. Recommendations for practitioners and staff are also discussed.

Qualitative research conducted in athletic training in the last two decades has increased but still lacks depth and breadth in pedagogy and education. This is especially evident in the multifaceted clinical education environment where diverse and alternative teaching techniques are necessary. Storytelling is one such teaching technique. It was the purpose of this study to uncover and illustrate the phenomenon of storytelling and its relationship to athletic training students' perceptions of their clinical education experience. Eight athletic training students were selected from a Northern California university undergraduate athletic training education program. The research data consisted of transcriptions from a series of three individual interviews. Athletic training students believed that stories influenced their experience in the clinical education environment in a variety of ways. In the analysis of the research data the following themes emerged: “The Environment and Shaping a Learning Community”, “Connections and Relationships of Shared Experience”, and “Defining and Developing Identity”. The theme “The Environment and Shaping a Learning Community” referred to the ability of shared experience presented in story to affect the clinical education environment through the perpetuation of the hierarchy of experience, the establishment of social norms and maintenance of the language. Respondents explained story's ability to shape the learning community by bringing together students for a collective purpose; through the establishment of relationships, and the sharing of common experience. The theme “Connections and Relationships of Shared Experience” referred to the capacity of story to build connections to learning and knowledge and cultivate human relationships. Respondents expressed that story encouraged learning as a process of self reflection, provided listeners with the opportunity to actively participate and to live vicariously through another's experience and connect didactic knowledge to the practical skills often used in the athletic training room. The theme “Defining and Developing Identity” referred to story's ability to create and reaffirm an athletic training student's personal and professional identity. This study has shown that the pedagogical technique of storytelling impacted athletic training students' clinical education experiences. Additionally, the shared experience improved the learning climate, made learning meaningful and created positive perceptions of student experience. Lastly, the findings from this study offer storytelling as a viable and useful pedagogical technique to the clinical education environment.

No description available.

The current study consisted of 4,116 student-athletes (Mage = 19.84; women = 66.9%; White = 78.2%) to achieve two purposes when considering the disrupting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of collegiate sports. First, I examined the relationship between gender, race/ethnicity, competition level, and athletic identity. Though there were no significant differences across NCAA Divisional levels, I found a significant gender by race interaction with Black male athletes reporting stronger athletic identities compared to White male and female athletes as revealed by post-hoc analyses. Second, I examined the relationship between athletic identity and psychological distress and found that when social support and self-compassion are both low, there is a moderate, positive relationship between athletic identity and psychological distress for the White female athletes. Additionally, there were main effects for self-compassion and social support where higher levels were related to lower psychological distress among the White female athletes and Latino/a athletes. For the Black male athletes, there was a main effect for only self-compassion. There was a significant self-compassion by social support interaction for the Black female athletes and White male athletes, suggesting that when self-compassion is low, or high, there are higher levels of psychological distress experienced when social support is low. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Context: Collegiate male athletes have a higher risk of testicular cancer due to their age group, an increased risk of testicular contusions, and a lack of secondary prevention education. As the athletic training profession increases emphasis on evidence-based practice, it is important for athletic trainers to understand testicular cancer and testicular-self examination as it is outlined within their scope of practice. A general understanding of testicular cancer and the prevention techniques will be important for athletic trainers to promote awareness and health behavior practices. Objective: To examine the athletic trainers' actual knowledge, concern, perceived responsibility, training, feeling of embarrassment, and professional/personal practices. Design: Cross sectional survey. Participants: 249 randomly selected athletic trainers employed in collegiate settings. 65.6% of the respondents reported being between the ages of 21 and 35 years old. Intervention: Actual knowledge, concerned, perceived responsibility, trained, embarrassed, and personal and professional practice behavior scores served as dependent variables. Main Outcome Measures: A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between participants' actual knowledge, perceived responsibility, and concerned scores. Two one-way MANOVAs were conducted to determine if there was a difference in actual knowledge, perceived responsibility, and concerned scores that was dependent upon participants' age and gender. Results: Athletic trainers in collegiate settings had a fairly high actual knowledge of testicular cancer (X=7.62[plus or minus]1.42 out of 10). Athletic trainers reported that they should be concerned about testicular cancer in male athletes (X=7.26[plus or minus].167 out of 10). Athletic trainers had a low feeling of responsibility suggested by their reported score (X=3.93[plus or minus]0.18 out of 10). A weak correlation (r(169)=.199, P[less than].009) was found between the actual knowledge and perceived responsibility scores, and between the actual knowledge and concerned scores (r(169)=.285, P[less than]<.001). A medium to strong correlation (r(169)=.486, P[less than].001) was found between the concerned and perceived responsibility scores. Athletic trainers reported a decreased feeling of training about testicular cancer and testicular selfexamination (X=2.28[plus or minus]2.10 out of 10). Also, athletic trainers reported (X=2.71[plus or minus]2.42 out of 10) that they were not embarrassed to discuss testicular cancer. Athletic trainers reported performing either a testicular self-exam or breast-self examination on themselves (X=76%). Conclusions: College athletic trainers have a low feeling of embarrassment, adequate knowledge, and a high feeling of concern regarding testicular cancer, but report a low feeling of perceived responsibility and training.