A Comparison Of Athletic Identity And Career Maturity Of Female Student Athletes At Different Levels Of Competition

Author : Jennifer L. Novak
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (184 download)

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Download or read book Preoccupations of College Students at a Carnegie Balanced, High Graduate University written by Jennifer L. Novak and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Since the early 1950's, identity development has been researched in college men. Until Ruthellen Josselson (1987) recognized the need to study women, most research was conducted solely on men and generalized to women. Although psychosocial research has come a long way since Erik Erikson introduced his eight stages of development, the stages that relate solely to females are still slightly new in regards to developmental theory. According to Erik Erikson (1968), identity can be referred to as involving a subjective feeling of self-sameness and continuity over time. Erikson (1969) also spoke of identity as both a conscious and unconscious process -- as a conscious sense of individual identity as well as an unconscious striving for continuity of personal character. Josselson believed there were distinct key differences in identity development when comparing males and females and that it was worthwhile to re-define the characteristics of women at each stage of development. It is also plausible that there are distinct differences that exist in the female gender between the general college student and the college student athlete. Prior to Title IX these differences may not have existed; however, now the differences between gender in sport have decreased (although they are still present). The opportunity for women to become professional athletes after completing higher education has become more prevalent. Due to this, the female studentathlete that excels at her sport is more likely to focus on sports after college rather than a career related to her major. To date, research performed on women's identity development by individuals other than Josselson is minimal. In order to understand the difference between the traditional college-aged female student and a student athlete further investigation into the present research is necessary. In this research project, examination through interviews (N = 4) was performed to determine how the perceptions of female student-athletes compared to the perceptions of general female college students. The interview questions proposed to address each participant's progress in identity formation as well as aspects of her psychosocial developmental history. An analysis of the qualitative interviews revealed that female student-athletes differed from the female general college student. This difference could be attributed to many factors but most specifically, the student-athlete and the general college student focused on different aspects of the college experience. For instance, the student-athlete focused more on participating in sport during and after college while making friends with teammates and other athletes. The general college student tended to focus more on academic work and career related studies and sought friendships in other general college students. The increase in scholarships available and the opportunities to participate professionally in sport after college may be a contributing factor in the exclusive athletic identities observed in this study's female student-athletes. Consequently, an evaluation mechanism designed to analyze a female athlete's psychosocial development is of increasing importance.