The effect of athletic and non-athletic factors on the sports career termination process

Psychology of Sport and Exercise 5 (2004) 45–59 www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport

The effect of athletic and non-athletic factors on the sports career termination process S. Cecic´ Erpicˇ a,∗, P. Wylleman b, M. Zupancˇicˇ c a

Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana, Gortanova 22, 1000-SI Ljubljana, Slovenia b Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Brussels, Belgium c Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Gortanova 22, 1000-SI Ljubljana, Slovenia

Received 23 March 2002; received in revised form 11 July 2002; accepted 18 September 2002

Abstract Objectives: To investigate the way in which the quality of sports career termination process is affected by athletic and non-athletic factors. Influence of athletic (voluntariness and gradualness of sports career termination, subjective evaluation of athletic achievements, post-sports life planning, and athletic identity) and non-athletic factors (age, educational status, positive and negative non-athletic transitions) on different aspects of sports career difficulties is presented. Method: Participants were 85 former elite Slovene athletes (aged 21–44 years) who had been retired for less than 4 years, ending a sports career at international or national level in one of 16 Olympic sports. Participants were presented with two questionnaires, including the Sports Career Termination Questionnaire assessing participants’ perceptions of the characteristics of the sports career process, and the Non-athletic Transitions Questionnaire assessing participants’ perceptions of the influence of non-athletic events and transitions on the quality of life. Results: The quality of the sports career termination process depends on the voluntariness of career termination, participants’ subjective evaluation of athletic achievements, the prevalence of athletic identity, educational status, and the occurrence of negative non-athletic transitions. Conclusions: The understanding of the sports career termination process, which incorporates both, athletic and non-athletic aspects, provides a more complex and multifaceted perspective of the course of athletic retirement and adaptation to post-sports life.  2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Sports career termination; Non-athletic transitions; Athletic factors; Athletic retirement; Post-sports life

∗

Corresponding author. Tel.: +386-1-5207735; fax: +386-1-5207733. E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Cecic´ Erpicˇ).

1469-0292/$ - see front matter  2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S1469-0292(02)00046-8

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Introduction Over the last three decades, the sport science community has demonstrated a growing interest in conceptualising the sports career termination process. Whereas earlier studies focused on the adaptation to the difficulties and trauma that followed career termination (e.g. Mihovilovic, 1968; Ogilvie & Howe, 1986; Ogilvie & Taylor, 1993a; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), more recent research has indicated that retirement from competitive sports should be viewed as a life event that influences former athletes’ well-being and development (e.g. Alfermann & Gross, 1997; Greendorfer & Blinde, 1985; Wylleman, De Knop, Menkehorst, Theeboom, & Annerel, 1993). The sports career, which is defined as “the multiyear sports activities of the individual aimed at high level sports achievements and self-improvement in sport” (European Federation of Sport Psychology, 2000), is not a homogenous entity but is composed of several stages. Each stage, including sports career transition and adaptation to post-sports life, is characterized by a set of specific demands requiring adjustment by athletes and has therefore been comprehended as a transition. According to the model of human adaptation to transition, as proposed by Schlossberg and associates (Schlossberg, 1981; Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995), a transition is “an event or non-event which results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one’s behavior and relationships” (Schlossberg, 1981, p. 5). Although the onset of a transition may be linked to one identifiable event or non-event (i.e. an event that an individual had expected but which did not occur, thereby altering one’s life), transitions are processes that are influenced by four major sets of factors referred to as situation, self, support, and strategies. Along with a growing interest toward the scientific investigation of sports career transition research has been the study of the influence of various, mainly sports-related, factors on the quality of the transition process. While the conceptual model of athletic retirement proposed by Taylor and Ogilvie (1994, 1998; Ogilvie & Taylor, 1993b) provides a comprehensive overview of how these factors influence sports career termination, the focus is mainly directed at athletic factors. The quality of sports career transition is affected by causes of sports career termination, factors related to the adaptation to retirement, and available resources. Among athletic antecedent and mediating factors that determine the quality of the sports career termination process, the conceptual model emphasizes the voluntariness and gradualness of the sports career termination, the degree of athletic identity, the evaluation of athletic achievements, and the planning of a postsports career life. The degree of voluntariness (i.e. perception of control) of sports career termination significantly contributes to the quality of adaptation to post-sports life (Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994) and is comprehended as both an antecedent factor (e.g. Ogilvie & Taylor, 1993a,b; Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994) and mediating factor (e.g. Alfermann, 2000; Wylleman et al., 1993). Research shows that voluntary career termination is correlated with a less difficult adaptation to post-sports life (e.g. Alfermann, 2000; Alfermann & Gross, 1997; Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998, 1999, 2000; McPherson, 1980; Werthner & Orlick, 1986). Involuntary retirement can lead to psychological difficulties such as lower self-control (Svoboda & Vanek, 1982; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), lower self-respect (Crook & Robertson, 1991), and more frequent feelings of anger, anxiety, and depression (Alfermann & Gross, 1997). The quality of adaptation to post-sports life is also influenced by the gradualness of the process of athletic retirement (Ogilvie & Taylor, 1993b). It is an antecedent

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factor which is closely connected to the degree of voluntariness of sports career termination, and consecutively to post-sports life planning. A gradual transitional process may lead to fewer difficulties related to adaptation to post-sports life (Werthner & Orlick, 1986). Athletic identity, which is defined as “the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role” (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993, p. 237), is one of the fundamental psychological issues that influence and determine adaptation to post-sports life (Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994). An athlete’s commitment to sports and the consequent reduction of investment in other social roles (e.g. student, partner, friend) often leads to the formation of a strong athletic identity (McPherson, 1980), which can have both positive and negative consequences for participants in sports. It has a positive influence on sports achievements (Danish, Petitpas, & Hale, 1993; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), exercise adherence, and athletic performance (Brewer et al., 1993). Other researchers have found evidence to suggest that individuals with strong athletic identity risk experiencing difficulties after sports career termination (e.g. Blinde & Greendorfer, 1985; Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Pearson & Petitpas, 1990; Werthner & Orlick, 1986). A strong athletic identity also influences the occurrence of difficulties (e.g. a development of post-sports occupational identity; Brewer et al., 1993), and the duration of emotional and social adjustment to post-sports life (Grove, Lavallee, & Gordon, 1997). The evaluation of achieved athletic goals, which is subjective in its nature, is one of the less studied mediating factors associated with sports career termination. The findings of Werthner and Orlick (1986) suggest that athletes who achieve the greater part of their goals related to sports, experience a less difficult athletic retirement and adaptation to post-sports life. Pre-retirement planning of post-sports life broadly influences the quality of adaptation to life following a competitive sports career (Coakley, 1983; Pearson & Petitpas, 1990; Schlossberg, 1981). It may include a variety of activities, such as continuing education, occupational endeavours, and activities related to social networks. Although a relation between post-sports life planning and a less difficult adaptation to post-sports life has been empirically supported (e.g. Stambulova, 1994; Svoboda & Vanek, 1982), approximately 45% of athletes (Wylleman et al., 1993) do not think about their life after active sports involvement. Prior research has, however, also underlined the importance of antecedent and mediating factors which are not directly sports-related but which influence the process of athletic retirement, including chronological age, educational status, and the occurrence of non-athletic transitions. The athlete’s age and the possible consecutive decline in sports performance are often stated as one of the most important causes for sports career termination. It has physiological, psychological, and social implications for retiring athletes (Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994). Athletes’ ability to compete at elite level is largely a function of maintaining their physical capabilities at a competitive level and is therefore influenced by a slow deterioration, which is a natural part of the maturation process. Psychological implications of ageing in sports are related to a decrease in motivation for training and competing (Werthner & Orlick, 1986), and in a change of values and priorities (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998, 2000; Svoboda & Vanek, 1982). The ageing process in sports is often related to a loss of social status in the sports environment and to a decline of self-confidence in related social activities (Sinclair & Orlick, 1993). A high socio-educational status, which may influence the occupational opportunities in a post-sports career life (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998), also has a significant positive influence on the quality of retirement from sports (McPherson, 1980; Svoboda & Vanek, 1982; Werthner & Orlick, 1986; Wylleman et al., 1993).

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The sports career termination process should also be studied from the viewpoint of non-athletic transitions (Wylleman, Lavallee, & Alfermann, 1999; Wylleman, De Knop, Ewing, & Cumming, 2000) as they have an impact on sports career termination and on adaptation to life after retirement (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 2000, 2001b). Non-athletic transitions include the events that occur in the athlete’s psychosocial life and are in essence not related to sports (e.g. the educational/academic or occupational career, social network development) but which may influence the quality and development of athletes’ sports career and post-sports lives (Wylleman & Lavallee, in press). The conception of non-athletic transitions includes normative and non-normative events in adulthood as understood by Neugarten (Turner & Helms, 1993), who presumes that development in adulthood is primarily socially determined and indicated by life-events that require reorganization of one’s expectations and/or lifestyle. The influence that life-events have on the individual’s life and how one reacts to their occurrence depend on individual’s subjective perception of these life-events (Turner & Helms, 1993). An athlete’s development is therefore influenced by important life-events (i.e. non-athletic transitions) including starting a job, marriage, birth of a child, or occupational retirement. Since former elite athletes comprehend athletic retirement as an important life-event (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998) it can be presumed that it influences their development. The quality of the sports career transition and the adaptation to post-sports life thus depend upon athletic and non-athletic factors. Their influence can result in a successful, relatively smooth transition, or in more or less intense difficulties at the psychological, physical, psychosocial, and/or occupational level. In terms of a conceptual model (Ogilvie & Taylor, 1993b; Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994, 1998), these difficulties represent consequential factors. After retirement from sports, athletes may experience difficulties at the psychological level, including identity crisis (e.g. Baillie & Danish, 1992; Crook & Robertson, 1991; Pearson & Petitpas, 1990), loss of self-worth (e.g. Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Wylleman et al., 1993), decrease of self-esteem (Werthner & Orlick, 1986), decline of life satisfaction (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), emotional problems (e.g. Alfermann & Gross, 1997; Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), feelings of unaccomplished athletic goals (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), and alcohol and drug abuse (Mihovilovic, 1968). Physical difficulties include injuries and health problems (e.g. Svoboda & Vanek, 1982; Werthner & Orlick, 1986), problems with detraining (e.g. Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Wylleman et al., 1993), and dietary problems (e.g. Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Svoboda & Vanek, 1982). Retirement from sports and adaptation to post-sports career life may be accompanied by difficulties at the psychosocial level, including social and cultural loneliness (Botterill, 1988), deficiency of social contacts (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Danish et al., 1993), and problems with building new relationships outside of sports (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Mihovilovic, 1968). The end of competitive sports involvement may also be accompanied by difficulties at the occupational level, such as lack of an occupational career (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998), lack of professional qualification (e.g. Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Wylleman et al., 1993), less suitable professional career choices (Wylleman et al., 1993), and a decline in financial income (e.g. Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998; Werthner & Orlick, 1986; Wylleman et al., 1993). Many of the aforementioned studies of sports career termination have not only been largely descriptive in nature, but have generally neglected to study the impact of non-athletic factors, particularly non-athletic transitions, on the athletic retirement process. The attention in the present study, therefore, was on the quantitative effect of several athletic and non-athletic factors on the quality of sports career termination process. In line with the relevant literature, nine athletic and

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non-athletic factors were studied. The athletic factors are the voluntariness and gradualness of the sports career termination, the subjective evaluation of sports achievements, post-sports life planning, and athletic identity. The non-athletic factors are age, educational status, positive and negative non-athletic transitions. The aims of the study are twofold. First to present a qualitative description of the occurrence of athletic and non-athletic factors, and the quality of sports career termination. Second, the study focuses on the effect of these factors on the occurrence of difficulties at the psychological, psychosocial, and occupational level, and the organization of a postsports career life. Based on previous research it was hypothesized that an involuntary and abrupt sports career termination, a lower evaluation of sports achievements, the lack of a post-sports life planning, and a low athletic identity would lead to a more difficult sports career termination process. Furthermore, it was assumed that athletes who were older at the time of retirement from sports were less educated, experienced less positive and more negative non-athletic transitions, and had to cope with a more difficult sports career termination process.

Method Participants Participants were 85 former elite Slovene athletes (31 females, 54 males) ranging in age from 21 to 44 years (M ⫽ 29.00years, SD ⫽ 5.24years). They retired on average at the age of 25.95 years (SD ⫽ 5.05), ending a sports career ranging in duration from 5.0 to 30.0 years (M ⫽ 15.96years, SD ⫽ 4.85). Participants, who were semi-professional athletes, competed at international (88%) or national level (12%) level in Olympic sports, namely in alpine skiing (n ⫽ 16), basketball (n ⫽ 14), handball (n ⫽ 11), track and field (n ⫽ 9), ski jumping (n ⫽ 7), whitewater kayaking (n ⫽ 6), swimming and ice-hockey (both n ⫽ 4), cross-country skiing (n ⫽ 3), soccer, Nordic ski combination, volleyball, and table tennis (each n ⫽ 2), biathlon, cycling, and rowing (each n ⫽ 1). Participants had been retired for longer than 1 year, but less than 4 years (M ⫽ 3.06 years, SD ⫽ 1.30 years). This ensured that participants had not only recently terminated their sports career, but also had experienced life after retirement. Participants’ level of education included primary (12.9%), secondary (20.0%), or higher education (67.1%). Instruments Participants were presented with two questionnaires The Sports Career Termination Questionnaire (SCTQ; Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 2000). The SCTQ assesses characteristics of the sports career termination process, evaluating the characteristics of active sports career, sports career termination, transition to post-sports life, and adaptation to post-sports life. It was developed on the basis of a qualitative pilot study conducted with former elite Slovene athletes who had terminated their careers on average 7 years ago (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998). Among characteristics of the sports career termination process it assesses voluntariness (1 item; 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 ⫽ not voluntary at all; 5 ⫽ completely voluntary) and gradualness of the termination (1 item; 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 ⫽ completely sudden; 5 ⫽ completely gradual),

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one’s subjective evaluation of athletic achievements (1 item; 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 ⫽ achieved almost no goals; 5 ⫽ achieved almost all goals), and degree of post-sports life planning (1 item; 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 ⫽ completely disagree; 5 ⫽ completely agree). Three scales of SCTQ assess the degree to which participants encountered difficulties during the process of the sports career termination: (a) at a personal level (8 items, a ⫽ 0.82), (b) at a psychosocial level (5 items, a ⫽ 0.74), and (c) at an occupational level (4 items, a ⫽ 0.75). Items and descriptive statistics are presented in Table 2. All items are rated on 5-point Likert-type scales (1 ⫽ pose no problems; 5 ⫽ pose great problems) with higher scores indicating that the athlete was perceived to have experienced a higher degree of difficulties. These three scales, together with social and emotional support during sports career transition scale (a ⫽ 0.79), are combined in a total scale of sports career transition difficulty (a ⫽ 0.89). The higher total score indicates more intense and more frequent difficulties experienced during the process of retirement from active sports involvement. Organization of post-sports life scale (8 items, a ⫽ 0.74) assesses the perceived quality of athlete’s adaptation to post-sports life (examples in Table 2). SCTQ also includes the scale of athletic identity (7 items, a ⫽ 0.76), which assesses the degree to which participants identified with the athletic role during their active sports career. It is based upon the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), developed by Brewer et al. (1993). Items are rated on 5-point Likerttype scales (1 ⫽ completely agree; 5 ⫽ completely disagree). Prevalence of athletic identity, which is assessed retrospectively, is indicated by lower values. The Non-Athletic Transitions Questionnaire (NATQ; Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 2000). With the NATQ participants assess retrospectively their perceptions of the influence of non-athletic events and transitions on the quality of their life. The NATQ presents 66 life-events and transitions, which are characteristic for adolescence and early adulthood, and which are related to education (12 items; e.g. graduation, change of subject of study), vocational career (10 items; e.g. first employment, job change), family life (25 items; e.g. engaging in a partner relationship, birth of a child), interpersonal relations (5 items; e.g. parents’ support during important life events, substantial change of quality of relations), economic status (7 items; e.g. purchase of a home, substantial financial difficulties), and other important life-events (6 items; e.g. important personal achievement, substantial change of lifestyle). Items were generated from a study on the development of the life structures during early adulthood among Slovene young adults (Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998). Participants indicate whether they experienced these life events, and assess the intensity of the influence of these events on the quality of their life using an 11-point Likert-type scale (⫺5 ⫽ strong negative influence; ⫹ 5 ⫽ strong positive influence). The aggregate of negative values represents the degree of self-perceived negative influence of non-athletic transitions, while the aggregate of positive values represents the degree of positive influence of non-athletic transitions on the quality of participants’ lives (examples in Table 1). Procedure The mailing addresses of 106 former elite athletes were obtained from the national sports governing bodies, coaches who worked with elite athletes, and sports scientists working with elite athletes. All former athletes were sent questionnaires accompanied by a personal letter detailing the general purpose of the study, the way in which to respond to the questionnaires, and a self-

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Table 1 Descriptive statistics of non-athletic factors Non-athletic transitions Positive non-athletic transitions Graduation Birth of a child Pregnancy (evaluated by female participants) Important personal achievement Beginning of partner relationship New job Substantial difference in quality of residence Moving in shared household with partner Success on important examination (related to education) Marriage Substantial improvement of relationship with parents Parental support at important life event Partner’s pregnancy (evaluated by male participants) Negative non-athletic transitions Death of partner Death of brother/sister Death of parents Severe illness or injury of parents Important personal failure Severe illness or injury of child Loss of job, unemployment Severe illness or injury of grand parents Severe illness or injury of brother/sister Deterioration of relations with parents Death of friend Participant’s severe illness or injury

N

M

SD

34 27 9 45 54 33 13 45 28 27 19 29 18

4.70 4.67 4.67 4.49 4.33 4.18 4.08 3.93 3.82 3.81 3.79 3.76 3.67

0.58 0.62 0.62 1.12 0.93 0.85 1.04 1.23 1.31 1.64 1.13 1.30 1.53

1 1 8 10 17 2 10 7 2 12 7 23

⫺5.00 ⫺5.00 ⫺4.50 ⫺3.70 ⫺3.52 ⫺3.50 ⫺3.00 ⫺3.00 ⫺3.00 ⫺2.92 ⫺2.86 ⫺2.74

0.00 0.00 0.92 1.57 1.55 0.71 1.05 1.53 2.83 1.24 2.11 2.91

Note: Degree of positive influence is indicated by higher values on a 1–5 scale; degree of negative influence is indicated by higher negative values on a 1–5 scale.

addressed and stamped envelope which the former athletes could use to return the questionnaires. After 8 weeks, the former athletes were contacted directly or by telephone and were encouraged to complete and return the questionnaires if they had not yet done so. In total, the questionnaires of 85 former athletes (80.2%) were returned completed and could be used in the data analysis. Results A majority of the participants (82%) evaluated their sports career termination as voluntary. Half of the respondents evaluated it as having been gradual (51%) and the other half as having been rather abrupt (49%). Fifty-eight percent of the athletes had reflected about a post-sports career life before retiring and 39% had planned their future life after sports career termination (very) accurately. Twenty-six percent of former athletes had not thought about life after retirement,

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Table 2 Descriptive statistics for sports career termination difficulties at psychological, psychosocial, and occupational level, and organization of post-sports life M Psychological difficulties Feelings of underachievement in sports-related goals Fear of an uncertain future Difficulties with planning one’s future Feelings of incompetence in activities other than sport Lack of self-confidence Low self-worth Low self-esteem Lack of self-control Psychosocial difficulties Missing the lifestyle of an athlete Missing sports-related social activities Missing friends from the sports environment Difficulties in establishing social contacts Relationship difficulties with one’s partner Occupational difficulties Lack of professional knowledge Financial difficulties Problems with finding a job Difficulties with adjustment to the requirements of the occupation Organization of post-sports life General evaluation of coping with adaptation to post-sports life General satisfaction with post-sports life General attitude to retirement from sports Comparison between active sports career and post-sports life Missing sport and athletic lifestyle Degree of sports career termination difficulty

SD

2.86 1.94 1.83 1.52 1.61 1.61 1.38 1.32

1.42 1.20 1.13 0.99 0.89 0.96 0.87 0.60

3.01 2.92 2.69 1.35 1.34

1.44 1.42 1.17 0.67 0.76

2.02 1.81 1.79 1.62

1.31 1.20 1.59 1.10

4.28 4.14 3.91 3.62 3.22 70.97

0.73 0.83 1.03 0.87 1.30 22.46

Note: Degree of difficulty is indicated by higher values on a 1–5 scale.

while 39% had no (exact) plan for their future. During the sports career of long duration, athletes achieved half of the previously set athletic goals. In fact, less than one-third (27%) evaluated having reached (almost) all of their goals, while 41% of the participants reached (almost) none of their sports-related goals. Slovene former elite athletes perceived themselves, in retrospect, to have a relatively strong athletic identity as indicated by an average of 2.45 (SD ⫽ 1.25) on a 5point scale. Table 1 presents the degree to which Slovene former elite athletes perceived specific life-events and transitions to have had a positive or negative influence on the quality of their lives. Only the most significant non-athletic transitions are presented here (for an overview see Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 2000). Graduation is an event that had the most important positive influence on the lives of respondents. Regarding significant positive influence, it is followed by transitions related to their family life, including pregnancy of female athletes, the birth of a child, and beginning a relationship with a partner. Having achieved something at a personal level was also included in the five

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most important positive events and transitions. On the other hand, being confronted with the demise or severe illness of a partner or close family member (sibling, parent) is among the most negative non-athletic transitions experienced by participants. These events were important only to few of the former athletes. Failing personally at something in life and falling ill or being injured, however, were actually two of the most negative events for most former athletes. Types of difficulties that accompany athletic retirement represent the quality of the sports career termination process (Table 2). Analysis revealed that former elite athletes perceived to have experienced on average most difficulties at the psychosocial level (M ⫽ 2.26, SD ⫽ 1.09), followed by occupational (M ⫽ 1.81, SD ⫽ 1.30) and psychological (M ⫽ 1.76, SD ⫽ 1.01) difficulties (Table 2). A majority of participants, however, was confronted with only a moderate degree of difficulties as is indicated by the relatively low mean scores. Missing the lifestyle of being an athlete, missing sports-related social activities and friends were three of the most difficult psychosocial situations which were experienced by approximately six former elite athletes in ten (63, 59, and 60%, respectively). At the psychological level, 56% of former athletes experienced intense feelings of underachievement in sports-related goals, 39% indicated to have feared, and 27% to have had difficulties with planning their future. Participants’ organization of life after having terminated their sports career was, on average, perceived to be relatively unproblematic. These retired athletes evaluated the process of adaptation as positive and were furthermore satisfied with their post-sports life, successfully coping with its demands. A smooth adaptation to post-sports life was manifested also when respondents compared their active sports career with their post-sports life, which showed that they considered their postsport life as more important than their former elite sports career. Only 5% of respondents were not satisfied with their current post-sports career life and 8% of former elite athletes described the adaptation process as negative. Five percent of athletes evaluated their former active sports career as far more important than their current post-sports life. In order to study what factors influence the quality of the sports termination process, the effect of athletic (voluntariness and gradualness of sports career termination, achievement of athletic goals, post-sports career planning, and athletic identity) and non-athletic (age at retirement, educational status, positive and negative non-athletic transitions) factors on the occurrence of difficulties (psychological, psychosocial, occupational) and the organization of post-sports life were computed using one-way ANOVAs (Table 4). Participants were divided into groups on the independent variables via median split. The degree of voluntary retirement from active sports involvement had a significant effect on all dependent variables, except perceived psychosocial difficulties (see Tables 3 and 4). Former athletes who terminated their career involuntarily experienced more frequent and more severe difficulties than those who retired voluntarily. Those who retired involuntarily coped with more frequent and severe psychological difficulties, such as feelings of incompetence in activities other than sports, lack of self-confidence, low self-respect and self-esteem. Furthermore, they experienced more frequent and severe occupational difficulties, and difficulties with organizing their post-sports life. They also evaluated their adaptation to post-sports life as more negative than athletes whose decision to retire from sports was perceived as voluntary. Athletes who reported having achieved fewer athletic goals than expected, experienced more difficulties than those who had achieved more goals. The former experienced more frequent and more severe psychological difficulties (e.g. low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence), occupational

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Table 3 Descriptive statistics of the relation between athletic and non-athletic factors with quality of sports career termination process Variable

n

Voluntariness IV ⫽ 15 V ⫽ 70 Gradualness A ⫽ 43 G ⫽ 42 Eval. of sport NA ⫽ 35 achievements A ⫽ 50 Post-sports NP ⫽ 42 life planning P ⫽ 43 Athletic HAI ⫽ 42 identity LAI ⫽ 43 Positive non- fPNAT ⫽ 27 athletic transitions aPNAT ⫽ 26 mPNAT ⫽ 27 Negative non- mNNAT ⫽ athletic 27 transitions aNNAT ⫽ 27 fNNAT ⫽ 26 Age (at SCT) pad ⫽ 31 yad ⫽ 29 cad ⫽ 25 Educational L ⫽ 11 status M ⫽ 17 H ⫽ 57

Psychological difficulties

Occupational Psychosocial difficulties difficulties

Organization of Difficulty of SCT post-sports life (total)

M (SD)

M (SD)

M (SD)

M (SD)

M (SD)

19.20 12.97 14.26 13.88 16.37

9.80 6.70 7.37 7.12 8.43

13.00 10.96 11.86 10.76 12.66

23.07 18.43 19.28 19.21 21.11

94.80 65.73 73.70 67.95 79.00

(5.67) (4.88) (6.35) (4.61) (5.54)

(5.05) (3.50) (4.26) (3.68) (4.60)

(4.55) (3.83) (4.47) (3.45) (4.67)

(5.38) (4.22) (5.30) (4.18) (5.18)

(22.08) (18.89) (25.46) (18.45) (24.87)

12.46 (4.97) 12.93 (5.13)

6.42 (3.26) 6.48 (3.48)

10.38 (3.21) 10.88 (4.15)

17.94 (3.98) 19.17 (4.84)

65.16 (18.59) 69.19 (20.71)

15.19 (5.74) 15.76 (5.51)

8.00 (4.30) 7.62 (3.96)

11.74 (3.87) 12.05 (4.48)

19.33 (4.72) 20.38 (4.71)

72.49 (23.95) 76.12 (23.39)

12.42 (5.09) 12.96 (4.62)

6.88 (3.99) 6.41 (2.96)

10.60 (3.40) 11.67 (2.74)

18.14 (4.59) 19.22 (3.69)

65.72 (20.21) 71.00 (16.25)

15.42 (5.35) 14.55 (6.49)

8.08 (4.42) 7.11 (3.95)

11.65 (4.29) 11.37 (84.67)

20.11 (5.86) 18.96 (4.64)

75.85 (27.01) 67.52 (24.23)

16.81 (6.86)

8.89 (4.87)

12.59 (4.73)

20.96 (5.16)

80.22 (29.33)

13.81 (4.57)

6.41 (2.99)

10.81 (3.91)

18.33 (4.48)

69.56 (17.26)

12.19 14.06 14.45 13.64 13.45

6.23 6.10 7.52 8.36 9.91

11.27 12.03 11.59 10.12 11.00

18.96 19.48 18.38 19.96 20.55

64.15 72.10 69.59 70.80 75.18

(3.95) (5.83) (5.65) (5.20) (4.30)

14.06 (5.47) 14.19 (5.83)

(2.78) (2.99) (3.65) (5.02) (5.22)

8.47 (4.15) 6.37 (3.34)

(2.82) (4.33) (4.19) (3.19) (3.07)

10.12 (3.65) 11.74 (4.24)

(4.36) (4.64) (4.14) (5.53) (5.26)

18.88 (5.17) 19.10 (4.57)

(17.46) (22.94) (22.73) (21.93) (22.02)

71.35 (26.68) 69.88 (21.30)

Note: SCT, sports career termination; IV, involuntary sports career termination; V, voluntary sports career termination; A, abrupt sudden sports career termination; G, gradual sports career termination; NA, not achieved most of athletic goals; A, acheived most of athletic goals; NP, not planned post-sports life; P, planned post-sports life; HAI, high athletic identity during sports career; LAI, low athletic identity during sports career; fPNAT, few positive non-athletic transitions; aPNAT, average positive non-athletic transitions; mPNAT, many positive non-athletic transitions; mNNAT, many negative non-athletic transitions; aNNAT, average negative non-athletic transitions; fNNAT, few negative nonathletic transitions; pad, transition from pre-adulthood to young adulthood (18–23 years); yad, entrance period of early adulthood (24–28 years); cad, transition of the thirties and culmination of early adulthood (29–40 years); L, low educational status (finished elementary school); M, medium educational status (finished secondary/high school); H, high educational status (student/finished college or university degree).

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Table 4 Summary table for one-way ANOVAs Variable

df

Psychological difficulties F

Occupational difficulties F

Psychosocial difficulties F

Voluntariness Gradualness Eval. of sport achievements Post-sports life planning Athletic identity Positive non-athletic transitions Negative non-athletic transitions Age (at SCT) Socio-educational status

1, 83 1, 83 1, 83

19.01∗∗ 0.10 11.59∗∗

8.19∗∗ 0.09 5.56∗

3.29 1.60 7.11∗∗

Organization of Difficulty of post-sports life SCT (total) F F 13.51∗∗ 0.00 10.19∗∗

27.54∗∗ 1.41 8.62∗∗

1, 83

3.65

3.22

0.98

0.02

0.46

1, 83 2, 77

8.44∗∗ 1.35

0.73 1.27

2.81 0.05

4.95∗ 0.42

4.81∗ 0.88

2, 77

5.22∗∗

4.37∗

1.50

2.31

3.63∗

2, 82 2, 82

0.14 0.08

2.43 5.15∗∗

1.70 1.11

0.80 0.48

0.09 0.26

Note: ∗p ⬍ 0.05; ∗∗p ⬍ 0.01.

difficulties (e.g. difficulties with finding a job, with adjustment to occupational demands), and psychosocial difficulties (e.g. loneliness, missing people related to sport). Athletes who perceived to have achieved fewer goals than expected, also dealt with more difficulties at organizing their post-sports career life (e.g. more negative evaluation of the adaptation process, longer adjustment period to post-sports life, fixation on an active sports career). An active planning of the post-sports career life, and the abruptness with which retirement came, had no significant effect on the characteristics of the sports career termination process. Athletic identity had a significant effect on the degree of difficulties experienced. Participants, who during their active sports involvement identified mostly with their athletic role, perceived to have experienced more difficulties than those athletes who identified less with the role of an athlete. A strong identification with the athlete identity was related to more severe and frequent psychological difficulties, as well as with more difficulties in organizing their post-sports career life. The degree of difficulty experienced during the sports career termination process was not influenced by athlete’s age at the time of the career end. However, current educational status had a significant effect on the occurrence of occupational difficulties, which refer to problems with finding a job, financial difficulties, difficulties with adaptation to the requirements of occupation, and lack of professional knowledge. Those former athletes who were highly educated (they were students or had attained a university degree) experienced least occupation related difficulties.1 1 Post-hoc comparison using the Tuckey HSD procedure revealed that a difference of 3.54 points between groups of low educated and highly educated participants is significant at p ⬍ 0.05 level, while the group of middle educated participants does not significantly differ from other two groups.

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While having experienced positive non-athletic transitions had no significant effect on the sports career termination process, the process was significantly influenced by negative non-athletic transitions. Athletes who experienced the most frequent and the most intense negative life events had a more difficult career termination process than those athletes who had experienced less negative non-athletic transitions. The former experienced more severe and more frequent psychological and occupational difficulties.2 Discussion The quality of athletic retirement is expressed as sports career termination difficulties, which consists of difficulties at the psychological, psychosocial, and occupational level, and of difficulties with organizing post-sports life. Voluntariness, as one athletic factor, significantly affects the quality of retirement from an active sports career process. It correlates with a variety of difficulties that are experienced by athletes. The results of this study show that an athlete’s greater perception of control over the decision to retire leads to a less difficult sports career transition and a smoother transition to the post-sports career life. These results are congruent with the findings of other studies (e.g. Alfermann, 2000; Alfermann & Gross, 1997; Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998, 2000, 2001a; McPherson, 1980; Werthner & Orlick, 1986). Gradualness of the process of athletic retirement and the planning of life after competitive sports involvement are two athletic factors that were found to have no effect on the quality of sports career termination. This is not consistent with the findings of Werthner and Orlick (1986) and Wylleman et al. (1993). Moreover, pre-retirement planning is seen as one of the most important factors leading to a less difficult process of adaptation (Coakley, 1983; Pearson & Petitpas, 1990; Schlossberg, 1981). The difference between the current findings and those of other authors may lie in differences in the operationalisation of ‘post-sports career planning’. In the present study it was operationalised as including a variety of activities, ranging from continuing education, to occupational endeavours, and activities related to athletes’ social network. Achieving the athletic goals set out during the sports career was related to the quality of the sports career termination process. This corroborates, to some extent, the descriptive findings of Werthner and Orlick (1986), who showed that athletes who achieved their goals experienced fewer problems during the retirement from sports process. These authors, however, did not provide precise measures of the type of difficulties athletes had to cope with. The degree of athletic identity and its prevalence over other social roles has also a significant effect on the quality of the retirement process from sports, more particularly on the degree of psychological difficulties experienced and the degree of difficulties related to the organization of post-sports life. These findings correspond to results from related research (e.g. Brewer, Van Raalte, & Petitpas, 2000;

2

Post-hoc comparison of total difficulty of sports career termination process, using Tuckey HSD procedure revealed that a difference of 16.07 points between two extreme groups is significant at p ⬍ 0.05 level, while the middle group does not significantly differ from the other two. Regarding psychological difficulties, two extreme groups differ significantly from each other (difference 4.62 points; p ⬍ 0.05). Post-hoc comparisons of occupational difficulties show that the middle group significantly differs from the group with many negative non-athletic transitions (difference 2.48 points; p ⬍ 0.05). There is also a significant difference of 2.66 points p ⬍ 0.05 between two extreme groups.

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Cecic´ Erpicˇ , 1998, 2001a; Pearson & Petitpas, 1990; Werthner & Orlick, 1986) concluding that athletes with a strong athletic identity experience more intense and more frequent difficulties during the process of retirement from sport. The present study also showed that the quality of the sports career termination process is affected by non-athletic factors, more particularly by negative non-athletic transitions and former athletes’ educational status. Experiences of severe and frequent negative life events affect the athletic retirement process, and relate to psychological and occupational difficulties. Positive non-athletic transitions did not relate to the quality of the sports career termination process. These findings suggest that the way in which athletes retire from elite sports and adapt to life after sports is not only affected by athletic factors (such as athletic identity), but also by events related to the athletes’ other social roles in education, the job market, and family. The educational status is significantly related to difficulties arising at the occupational level. More educated athletes had more professional knowledge and more occupational opportunities, thus experiencing less occupationrelated difficulties later during their post-sports career life (Gorbett, 1985; Murphy, Petitpas, & Brewer, 1996; Williams-Ryce, 1996). According to the results of the present study, the retirement process was not influenced by an individual’s age at the time of career termination, which is not consistent with findings of several other studies (e.g. Svoboda & Vanek, 1982; Werthner & Orlick, 1986). Our results reveal that athletic and non-athletic aspects of life seem to be closely connected and mutually interdependent with regard to the career transition. These findings also have practical implications. In order to fully understand an athlete’s career transition to post-sports life it is necessary for sport psychology practitioners to diagnose both athletic and non-athletic aspects of the athlete’s life. In conclusion, the present study suggests that difficulties of sports career termination depend on athletic factors, namely voluntariness of career termination, subjective evaluation of athletic achievements, and prevalence of athletic identity. Furthermore non-athletic factors, such as educational status and negative non-athletic transitions, have a significant effect on the quality of sports career transition and adaptation to post-sports life. In our opinion, the understanding of the sports career termination process, which incorporates both athletic and non-athletic aspects, provides a complex and multifaceted perspective of the course of athletic retirement and adaptation to post-sports life, as advocated by Wylleman and Lavallee (in press). References Alfermann, D. (2000). Causes and consequences of sport career termination. In D. Lavallee, & P. Wylleman (Eds.), Career transitions in sport: International perspective (pp. 45–58). Morgantown: Fitness Information Technology. Alfermann, D., & Gross, A. (1997). Coping with career termination: it all depends on freedom of choice. In R. Lidor, & M. Bar-Eli (Eds.), Proceedings of the ninth world congress on sport psychology (pp. 65–67). Netanya: Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport. Baillie, P. H. F., & Danish, S. J. (1992). Understanding the career transition of athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 6, 77–98. Blinde, E. M., & Greendorfer, S. L. (1985). A reconceptualization of the process of leaving the role of competitive athlete. International Review for Sociology of Sport, 1–2, 87–92. Botterill, C. (1988). Preventing burnout and retirement problems. Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine, 8, 28–29. Brewer, B. W., Van Raalte, J. L., & Linder, D. E. (1993). Athletic identity: Hercules’ muscles or Achilles heel? International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 237–254.

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