Life satisfaction, psychosocial development and perceived mentoring at career termination of collegiate male athletes

Collegiate male athletes' perceptions of the incidence and impact of mentoring upon their life satisfaction and psychosocial development were assessed at the termination point of their collegiate careers. Two weeks prior to graduation, Division I & IAA senior male athletes (n = 43) were compared to a non-athlete control group of seniors (n = 33). Subjects were administered The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWL), Modified Eriksonian Psychosocial Stage Inventory (MEPSI), and The Mentoring Functions Survey (MFS).; No significant SWL or MEPSI differences were found between athletes and non-athletes. Contrary to prediction, no significant difference existed between athletes and nonathletes with regard to objective reports of vocational and psychosocial mentoring. However, subjective appraisals of mentoring revealed that athletes reported a greater incidence of mentoring than non-athletes. Contrary to prediction, mentoring was not associated with SWL scores. In accordance with predictions, athletes who received a greater degree of mentoring functions exhibited higher MEPSI Trust and Intimacy scores, indicative of developmental task resolution. Contrary to prediction, fully mentored athletes were not significantly different from partially mentored athletes.; The results indicate that mentoring occurs with similar frequency among athletes and non-athletes in a collegiate population. Furthermore, while the athlete-coach relationship can not be viewed as a traditional mentoring relationship, specific mentoring functions represent process variables that may be positively associated with athletes' adjustment and development during college. The pattern of association between mentoring and developmental stage scores indicated that mentoring functions were associated with resolution of developmental crises to a greater degree among athletes than among non-athletes. These data suggest that athletes and nonathletes may have traversed different developmental paths to achieve their current developmental status. Engagement in a relationship encompassing mentoring functions potentially represents one of the paths associated with psychosocial development of collegiate male athletes.; Contrary to previous findings regarding the impact of injury upon post athletic career transition, slight injury status was associated with higher grade-point average, life satisfaction, and developmental task scores. The consistency of these findings might suggest that an optimal level of adversity, in this case injury, may be growth promoting.