1 Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
2 Department of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2017 Nov;63(7):598-601. doi: 10.1177/0020764017724184. Epub 2017 Aug 10.
Despite evidence identifying adjustment difficulties among retiring athletes, research investigating factors that contribute to post-retirement complications is limited. Athletic identity may be an important determinant of adverse adaptation to sport retirement.
The purpose of this study was to address the influence of athletic identity on post-retirement depression and anxiety symptoms among varsity athletes.
An anonymous, online survey regarding athletic identity and psychiatric symptoms was completed by 72 self-identified varsity athletes during their final season of competition and 3 months after retiring from sport.
After controlling for the effects of pre-retirement anxiety symptoms, endorsement of an athletic identity significantly predicted anxiety symptoms in the post-retirement period. A similar, but non-significant, pattern was observed for depressive symptoms.
The findings of this study suggest that athletes' degree of athletic identity may be a risk factor for the emergence of psychiatric distress in the months following their retirement from sport. Identity-focused screening or intervention during athletes' sport careers could potentially mitigate some of the psychological difficulties associated with sport retirement.
尽管有证据表明退役运动员存在适应困难，但研究导致退役后并发症的因素的研究有限。运动认同可能是对运动退役不良适应的一个重要决定因素。
本研究旨在探讨运动认同对大学运动员退役后抑郁和焦虑症状的影响。
通过匿名在线调查，对 72 名自我认定的大学运动员在最后一个赛季比赛期间和退役后 3 个月进行了运动认同和精神症状调查。
在控制了退役前焦虑症状的影响后，运动认同的认可显著预测了退役后时期的焦虑症状。抑郁症状也出现了类似但不显著的模式。
本研究结果表明，运动员的运动认同程度可能是他们退役后几个月出现精神困扰的一个风险因素。在运动员的运动生涯中进行以身份为重点的筛查或干预，可能有助于减轻与运动退役相关的一些心理困难。
