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Date of Award
Summer 2023
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Department or Program Affiliation
Kinesiology- Sport and Exercise Psychology
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Health and Human Development
First Advisor
Arthur-Cameselle, Jessyca
Second Advisor
Keeler, Linda
Third Advisor
Robey, Hillary
Abstract
Forced athletic retirement has been associated with negative mental health symptoms within intercollegiate and elite populations (Blakelock et al., 2016; Wippert & Wippert, 2010), yet less is known about adolescent athletes who retire. The purpose of the current study was to assess the mental health symptoms and flourishing of former non-elite adolescent athletes to determine if there were any group differences based on reasons for retirement, gender, or perceptions of control. Using random stratified sampling, 347 former adolescent athletes (Mage = 19.94) were recruited from colleges across the United States. Of the sample, 43% of participants retired for forced (i.e., injury/illness, deselection, COVID-19) reasons and 57% percent expected sport retirement (i.e., graduation). Using anonymous online surveys, participants completed measures of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and flourishing. MANOVAs revealed statistically significant higher negative mental health scores among participants who were forced to retire compared to those who expected retirement (p = p2 = .07) and there were lower negative mental health symptoms reported by those who perceived control over retirement (p = .004, hp2 = .03). Lastly, an independent samples t-test revealed that individuals who expected retirement reported statistically significant higher levels of flourishing (p = .001, d= 0.35) compared to those who were forced to retire. Career planning and clinical supported services may be beneficial for this population.
Type
Text
Publisher
Western Washington University
OCLC Number
1384498032
Subject – LCSH
College athletes--Retirement; College athletes--Mental health; Teenage athletes--Retirement; Teenage athletes--Mental health; Teenage athletes--Psychology; Sports injuries
Format
application/pdf
Genre/Form
masters theses
Language
English
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Recommended Citation
Ahmann, Lindsay, "An Examination of the Mental Health Symptoms of Former Adolescent Athletes Who Experienced Either Forced or Expected Athletic Retirement" (2023). WWU Graduate School Collection. 1211.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1211