Nick PazdziorkoNick Pazdziorko

April 30, 2009April 30, 2009

The Pennsylvania State The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity

Student Athlete Identity, Does it Student Athlete Identity, Does it Matter?Matter?

““Intercollegiate athletics is one of the Intercollegiate athletics is one of the salient filters through which the public salient filters through which the public views American postsecondary views American postsecondary education.education.””

-- Pascarella & TerenziniPascarella & Terenzini

Game Plan:Game Plan:Introduction:

Why?Research Question

Literature Review: What's out thereWhat's MissingPsychosocial Student DevelopmentAthlete Identity – AIMS Scale

Research Design:Limitations:Implications / Conclusion:Questions:

Why Athletes?Why Athletes?• Personal

– Oversee Residential complex housing athletes – Deal with student athletes having problems– Observed the focus that peers and the general

population give to this population• Give me and possibly others a better

understanding of this population

Research Question:Research Question:• Does student athlete identity influence

the student development of Division I premier sport student athletes (men’s football and basketball)?

Scouting the players: Scouting the players: WhatWhat’’s Out There?s Out There?

• Stereotypes• Faculty Impact• Peer Impact• Dress• Training / Program

Regiments• Gender• Sexual Orientation• Competition• Body Image

• Alcohol / Drug usage –abuse– Steroids

• Burn out• Injury• Transition

– High school to College to Pro

• Academics• Team dynamic• Athlete Identity –

measurement scale

WhereWhere’’s the field? s the field? WhatWhat’’s missing?s missing?

• Impact athlete identity has on a student• Student athlete college student

development• Rhetoric on athletes

Psychosocial Development:Psychosocial Development:

• Possible Models to Choose From • Chickering’s Theory of Identity

Development – Development 1969, updated 1993– Proposes 7 vectors of development that

contribute to identity formation

Athletic Identity Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS):Measurement Scale (AIMS):

• “Most widely accepted instrument for measuring athlete identity” – Groff

• Applied to elite athletes, recreational athletes, and non athletes– Comprised of 10 questions focusing on

• Exclusivity• Social Identity• Self Identity• Negative affectivity

Research Question:Research Question:• Does student athlete identity influence

the student development of Division I premier sport student athletes (men’s football and basketball)?

Research Design: Play Book:Research Design: Play Book:• Participants

– Pilot project at PSU with men’s football and basketball

• Procedure:– Computer based questioner– Include demographic information – Includes AIMS as well as series of questions

related to Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development

Research Design: Play Book:Research Design: Play Book:

• Date Analysis:– Use SPSS– Examine factors the Impact Psychosocial

Development• Sport• Residence• Scholarship

LimitationsLimitations::• Sample – Male Division I premier sport

athletes• Application• Own Biases• Access to athletes• Voluntary responses• Specific to one psychosocial theory

Implications / Conclusion:Implications / Conclusion:• Connection between student athlete identity

and student psychosocial development• Additional Lens• Understanding that student athletes are not

just another student but a unique population• Better programs and services

QuestionsQuestions::

References:References:• Brewer, B.W., Van Raalte, J.L., & Linder, D.E. (1993). Athletic identity:

Hercules muscles or Achilles heel? International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 237-254.

• Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Creswell, John (2008). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications, Inc

• Diane G Groff, Ramon B Zabriskie. (2006). An Exploratory Study of Athletic Identity Among Elite Alpine Skiers with Physical Disabilities: Issues of Measurement and Design. Journal of Sport Behavior, 29(2), 126-141.

• Evans, N. J., Forney, D. E., & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Gaston-Gayles, J. L. (2004). Examining academic and athletic motivation among student athletes at a division I university. Journal of College Student Development, 45(1), 75-83.

• Groff, D. G., Zabriskie, R. B. (2006) An exploratory study of athletic identity among elite alpine skiers with physical disabilities: Issues of measurement and design. Journal of Sport Behavior; Jun 2006; 29, 2;

• Harrison, C. K., Stone, J., Shapiro, J., Yee, S., Boyd, J. A., & Rullan, V. (2009). The role of gender identities and stereotype salience with the academic performance of male and female college athletes. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 33(1), 78-96.

References:References:• Melendez, M. C. (2006). The influence of athletic participation on the college

adjustment of freshmen and sophomore student athletes. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 8(1), 39-55.

• Nasco, S. A., & Webb, W. M. (2006). Toward an expanded measure of athletic identity: The inclusion of public and private dimensions. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 28(4), 434-453.

• Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Schuh, J. H. & Upcraft, M. L. (2001). Assessment practices in student affairs: An applications manual. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Simons, H. D., Bosworth, C., Fujita, S., & Jensen, M. (2007). The athlete stigma in higher education. College Student Journal, 41(2), 251-273.

• Singer, J. N. (2008). Benefits and detriments of African American male athletes' participation in a big-time college football program. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 43(4), 399-408.

• Woodruff, A. L., & Schallert, D. L. (2008). Studying to play, playing to study: Nine college student-athletes' motivational sense of self. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(1), 34-57.

• Yopyk, D. J. A., & Prentice, D. A. (2005). Am I an athlete or a student? Identity salience and stereotype threat in student-athletes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 27(4), 329-336.