A Communicative Approach to Sport Socialization: The Functions of Memorable Messages in Division-I Student-Athletes’ Socialization

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Cranmer

Previous research has suggested the potential for enduring and influential messages (otherwise known as memorable messages) to serve as mechanisms of athlete socialization but has failed to explore how these messages might help athletes adjust to their teams. This study used open-ended questionnaires to explore how the memorable messages that Division-I student-athletes receive before their college career influence them before and after they join their teams, as well as the associations between message content and function. The results of this study indicate that memorable messages shape student-athletes’ attitudes, expectations, and participative decisions before beginning their college careers and their attitudes, relationships, and performance once they began their careers. However, few associations between message content and functions were observed, and no associations between student-athletes’ sex and sport type with message functions were observed. These results highlight the role of discourse in sport socialization by revealing that specific messages help prepare and acclimate student-athletes for college athletics. However, this study fails to provide insight into why specific functions might occur.

Author(s):  
Robert Madden ◽  
Zachary Winkelmann ◽  
Samantha Weber ◽  
Erin Moore ◽  
Toni Torres-McGehee

Purpose: Anger associated with sports participation may affect inability to acutely process anger, may decrease performance and increase the likelihood of risk-taking behavior in collegiate athletes. Therefore, the purpose was to examine the prevalence of anger in collegiate student-athletes across sex, academic status, and sport type. Methods: A cross sectional study over a three-year period examined 759 NCAA Division I student-athletes at one institution (age=20±1 years; males: n=259; females: n=500) completed an optional pre-participation behavioral health screening questionnaire, personal demographic information and the Anger Index Self-Test. Results: Overall, 37.2% (n=282/759; males=127/259, 49.0%; females=155/500, 31.0%) of participants were at high-risk for anger. We identified a significant difference between the anger and sex [Χ2(2, N=759) =28.1, P≤0.01]. We also identified a significant difference between the anger and sport type [Χ2(8, N=759)=32.1, P≤0.01] with 55.2% (n=419/759) at moderate risk for anger despite sport type; with the highest percentages presenting high-risk for anger within power sports (n= 64/116, 55.2%) and ball sports (n=98/240, 40.8%). No significant differences were identified for anger risk and academic status (P=0.66). Conclusions: Female collegiate student-athletes demonstrated a higher prevalence of anger than male collegiate student-athletes, yet more males were high-risk. Most student-athletes displayed moderate-risk for anger across different sports. Anger across academic status was not significantly different implying that anger management and coping skills may need to be taught during their student-athlete tenure to mitigate the identified risk. A collegiate student-athlete’s inability to process anger may affect sports performance and have negative consequences on their personal and social life. A primary prevention mechanism exists to explore proper coping mechanisms for anger during sport before the onset of mental health conditions that could exacerbate the experience for the individual.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Davies ◽  
Brenna M. Bird

Student-athletes often fail to report concussion signs and symptoms, thereby putting themselves at risk for delayed recovery and permanent impairment. The present study examined motivations for underreporting concussion symptoms among college athletes enrolled at an NCAA Division I university. One hundred and ninety-three student-athletes in high-risk sports completed a multiple-choice survey related to self-reporting of suspected concussion symptoms and reporting of teammates’ symptoms. Results indicated that 45% of participants did not report their own suspected concussions during the present season and 50% did not report suspected concussions in teammates. Responses revealed that the primary reason for underreporting a suspected concussion was the belief that the blow to the head was not serious enough. Suggestions are provided for athletes, athletic staff, and coaches to improve players’ awareness of the signs, symptoms, and consequences of concussions, as well as how to report suspected concussions appropriately.


2019 ◽  
pp. 153819271987609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Ortega

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) serves as the primary governing organization for college athletics. The NCAA is now responsible for representing a growing proportion of student-athletes who identify as Latinos. This study examined the experiences of Division I Latino male student-athletes. Questionnaires and interviews were used to understand how race and athletics shape their college experiences. Findings revealed the following three themes: racial remarks, peer stigmas, and cultural obligations.


Author(s):  
Scott Bukstein

Recent discussion amongst scholars and practitioners related to current issues in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college athletics has focused on areas such as the widespread commercialization of amateur sports, consistent corruption within athletics departments at NCAA member institutions, extensive exploitation of student-athletes and the necessity of a “pay for play” employee compensation model for student-athletes (see, for example, Benedict & Keteyian, 2014; Branch, 2011; Huma & Staurowsky, 2012; Nocera & Strauss, 2016; Southall & Staurowsky, 2013; Staurowsky, Maxcy, Karcher, Southall, Berri, & Otto, 2015). However, there has been minimal scholarly and industry discourse on how to leverage some of the revenues generated at the NCAA, conference and individual athletics program levels in order to develop innovative and sustainable higher education solutions that would prepare all student-athletes for career and personal success after participation in college athletics.  The primary objective of this journal article is to encourage a more informed conversation about important issues in college athletics in part by proposing several practical strategies that would improve the overall student-athlete experience and further align participation in college athletics with the core goals of institutions of higher education.  This research note provides an overview of the college athletics business model at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions within Division I of the NCAA.  In addition, this article reviews the current NCAA Division I governance structure.  An accurate knowledge of the business and governance realities within college athletics is essential to understanding that paying student-athletes an hourly wage or annual salary is actually not one of the main system issues or central student-athlete wellbeing priorities of advocates for student-athletes, athletics leaders and higher education administrators.  This article analyzes the primary issues and areas in which key college athletics stakeholders presently seek change and improvement.  This article also spotlights innovative, culturally relevant student-athlete career and professional development programs recently developed by the University of Central Florida, Oregon State University and Vanderbilt University.  Finally, this article provides a series of recommendations for all stakeholders involved in college athletics to optimize the student-athlete academic and athletic experience and to improve the level of career preparedness of all student-athletes. 


2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Bennett

In recent years, Division I athletics programs have hired counseling or clinical psychologists as a resource for student-athletes who need assistance with clinical issues, personal difficulties, and performance issues. This article documents the evolution of this type of position at Virginia Tech and includes a discussion of the goals of the clinical sport psychologist position, an overview of the daily activities the position entails, and a discussion of the issues that comprise the assessment, conceptualization, and treatment of student-athlete concerns. Models for conceptualizing and delivering sport psychology interventions are also discussed. Evidence indicates that having access to a mental health professional familiar with the issues facing college athletes can be instrumental in helping many of these student-athletes achieve success in the university setting.


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