'Off the Field': A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Identity Status and its Relationship to Psychosocial Factor

Many athletes have difficulty transitioning out of sport. Identity foreclosure (high commitment to an ideology or vocation with little exploration of other roles and options) has been shown to have a negative relationship with career transition. This study investigated the identity status of former Division I football players and its relationship salient psychosocial factors (athletic identity, stereotype threat, and social support). A concurrent embedded mixed methods design was used with priority given to the qualitative data. Using Marcia's (1966) identity development theory and the scoring guide of Marcia and Archer (1993), this study also ascertained the current identity status of the participants and examined their career transition out of sport. Six former Division I athletes from a university were recruited. It was found that social support had a strong relationship with identity status. Those in Identity Achievement (high commitment/presence of exploration) had the smoothest transition, while those in Moratorium (low commitment/high exploration) had a more challenging path. Those in Diffusion (low commitment/low exploration) experienced a passive transition out of sport. Management styles of role conflict had a strong relationship with identity status, and lastly, stereotype threat had a small relationship with role conflict by means of attachment to athletic identity.