The purpose of this paper was to look at selected parental traits (i.e. cohesion, commitment, coping, and communication) and determine if they positively affected a student's involvement in extracurricular activities. Also, parental support and pressure were assessed by the athlete in relation to how much of each of these qualities the athlete felt one's parents exhibited. The researcher also examined family categories such as biological parents, step parents, mother only, and an "other" category which combined all other family types. The study took place at a conservative mid-sized institution in the Midwest with 126 males and 106 females participating. All of the participants were in their freshman year of college.Based on the results of the study, parental support and parental pressure were not contributing factors to how well an athlete did in one's sporting event. Also, family type was not a major factor in determining the amount of support and pressure an athlete receives from one's parents. Finally, families that seemed to have higher cohesion, commitment, coping, and communication skills were more likely to be associated with athletes which came from a two parent biological family type. / School of Physical Education

This study was designed to investigate the potential differences In the level of developmental maturity among three groups of college students (athletes, former athletes, and nonathletes). An additional Inquiry was conducted to examine variations by sex within groups of athletes.The Student Developmental Task Inventory-2 (SDTI-2) was selected as the dependent measure for developmental maturity, and three research hypotheses were tested:1) Athletes will demonstrate the lowest levels of developmental maturity, with the former athletes at an Intermediate level, and the nonathletes having thehighest levels.2) Male athletes in revenue-producing sports (football and basketball) will score lower on measured levels of developmental maturity than males Innonrevenue-producing sports.3) Female athletes will be more advanced In developmental maturity than male athletes.The SDTI-2 was administered to 281 college students. A research survey obtaining objective data and subjective accounts regarding sport participation was administered as a means of categorizing the students Into the groups for comparison.Combined adjusted mean scores on Tasks One, Two, and Three of the SDTI-2 were used to examine hypothesis 1. The overall adjusted group means did not support hypothesis 1.Data from the SDTI-2 were analyzed by a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) which supported hypothesis 2 (f = 2.77, p<.04). Athletes in nonrevenue-producing sports were more advanced on Task One (Developing Autonomy) than athletes in revenue-producing sports.Data from the SDTI-2 were also analyzed by a MANOVA to test hypothesis 3. Results of the analysis demonstrated a statistically significant difference between male and female athletes (f = 7.41, p<.01). Female athletes were more advanced on Task Three (Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships). Male and female athletes were further differentiated In terms of two subtasks. Females were more advanced In "Mature Relationships With Peers," and males were more advanced In "Appropriate Educational Plans.'These data denote that differences exist among the collegiate athletic population. The major implication being that the collegiate athletic population is variegated, demonstrating differing assets and needs regarding developmental task achievement. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of this study was to investigate elite soccer players' attentional focus during their best performances, better understand the strategies they use to enter or re-enter optimal attentional states, and explore potential attentional differences according to soccer positions, performance tasks, and game situations. No previous studies have explored elite soccer players' attentional skills from a naturalistic and qualitative perspective in such detail. The growing interest in soccer among Canadians provided further justification for this study. Data collection consisted of individual semi-structured interviews with eight elite soccer players from five main soccer positions, namely goalkeeper, defender, wing, midfielder, and forward. Cross-case thematic analysis indicated positive thinking and pre-performance routines as important sources of optimal focus. Attentional focus varied according to soccer positions and performance tasks. Information processing, sport expertise, and attentional systems theoretical frameworks informed the discussion of results. Applied and theoretical implications were drawn and future studies were recommended.

The incidence of mental health problems in student-athletes has garnered an increased interest and concern among researchers and university administrators; however, limited literature is available on Canadian student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to explore whether role conflict and passion were predictive of mental health constructs, (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, and satisfaction with life) in a sample of Canadian student-athletes. The final sample consisted of 148 participants (105 females and 43 males) from five universities belonging to the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. Participants completed an online survey comprised of DASS (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), SWLS (Satisfaction with Life), DMP (Dualistic Model of Passion Scale) and sets of questions about personal characteristics and self-perceived conflict between their academic and athletic roles. Conflict was reported by 70% of males and 55% of females.In addition, 99.32% of surveyed student-athletes were passionate about sport, while 73.65% were passionate about school. Passion for sport and conflict were found to be correlated with mental health variables and statistically significant predictors of depression, anxiety and stress explaining 16%, 14.8% and 21.8% of variance in scores, while passion for school and conflict were significant predictors of satisfaction with life explaining 16.5% of score variance (p<0.05). Finally, males reported higher rate of “severe” depression (17% vs. 10%), anxiety (24% vs. 13%), and stress (17% vs. 15%) than females. These findings reveal relationships between investigated mental health constructs and passion and role conflict in student-athletes while adding to the limited research in a Canadian setting. / Graduate

This study examined four Canadian Olympic athletes’ attitudes towards mental training and their implementation strategies before, during, and after the 2012 London Olympics. This study interviewed four athletes who competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Athletes were represented from rowing, swimming and track and field. Their interviews were written-up as in-depth narratives to provide a rich, insight into these athletes’ perspectives and unique experiences. The narratives were analyzed individually and were then compared and contrasted across all four. Regarding the current attitudes of the athletes, all athletes interviewed expressed a positive attitude towards mental training. However, they differed in their underlying beliefs as to whether this was a fundamental or supplementary component to their preparation and subsequent performance. Themes that emerged as influencing the development of these attitudes include prior experience and maturity of the athlete. In regards to their implementation methods, the athletes all used mental training but their approach ranged from implementing holistically to a narrower approach. Future research should investigate the different factors that may impact an athletes’ attitude towards mental training such as team versus individual sport, gender, and years of experience. Additionally, exploring what a holistic mental training plan would look like compared to a supplementary approach and whether they result in differences in athlete performance. / Graduate / 0515

The primary purpose of the study was to examine and analyze high school athletic participation with regard to the achievement of developmental tasks as described by A. W. Chickering and measured through the administration of the Student Developmental Task Inventory, Revised, Second Edition. The investigation was designed to determine whether there was a statistically significant relationship among the developmental factors of athletes, both male and female, and non-athletes, both male and female.In order to complete the study, demographic data was collected from the participating students at the same time as the measurement through the SDTI-2. All information was prepared for computer analysis and all data were computer analyzed. Eight null hypotheses were tested by using the commercial package, Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS X)> The 0.05 level of significance was established as the critical probability level for rejection of hypotheses.Conclusions Athletes vs. Non-AthletesWith regard to Developing Autonomy, Developing Purpose, and Developing Mature Interpersonal Relations there is no statistically significant difference in either the male or the female groups.The self reported grade averages were found to be significant for both the male athlete and the female athlete when compared to the non-athletes. Males vs. FemalesWith regard to Developing Autonomy, Developing Purpose, and Developing Mature Interpersonal Relations there is no significant difference in the areas of Developing Autonomy and Developing Purpose. There is a significance at the .04 level for females in the Developing Mature Interpersonal Relations.When considering the athletes only with regard to the developmental tasks, there is no statistically significant difference in the male athletes and the female athletes.The number of sports of participation for the male athletes and the female athletes was also not found to be a significant difference with regard to the three developmental tasks.

Research has shown that when athletes engage in preretirement planning and address various factors associated with leaving sport (e.g., voluntariness of retirement, shifting identity away from that of an athlete, preretirement planning, personal development, career development, social support), they had significantly better cognitive, emotional, and behavioral adaptation to life after sport. The NCAA is one of the largest sport institutions in the world and they provide limited guidelines to member institutions regarding preparing student-athletes for retirement from sport, and as a result, different schools are developing their own programs. This study explored what NCAA athletic departments do to prepare their student-athletes for their graduation and transition out of sport. Participants were athletic department administrators, and they completed a survey that assessed for current preretirement planning practices and available campus resources for student-athletes who are transitioning out of sport. I used frequencies, t-tests, and chi-square analyses to assess trends across divisional levels (DI vs. DII/DIII). Analyses show that significantly more DI than DII/DDIII institutions have preretirement planning programs. Additionally, there is no significant difference between the topics that are covered across divisional level. The degree to which participants agreed that athletic departments have an ethical/moral responsibility and their perception of who is in charge of planning to prepare athletes varied significantly across divisional level. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-133).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-155). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR19688

Project (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 19). Also available via the Internet.