The influences of peer and university culture on female student athletes’ perceptions of career termination, professionalization, and social isolation

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Sport Behavior

Volume

23

Issue

4

First Page

364

Last Page

378

Publication Date

12-1-2000

Abstract

Research about student athletes in higher education has often addressed how sport participation affects academic commitment, in the 1980s, studies shifted the focus from identifying categorical variables of success to investigating the social processes that impacted the students' academic success (e.g., Adler & Adler, 1985; Meyer, 1990). The purpose of this study was to determine whether the processes noted in the previous literature about student athletes' experiences of college were applicable to current U.S. female elite collegiate athletes. Qualitative interviews were conducted with female collegiate tennis and basketball athletes from the midwest and the west coast. Three prominent themes were identified by the investigators: career termination, professionalization, and social isolation. These themes were discussed in terms of how they may effect the academic commitment of elite collegiate athletes.

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