Campus Access Only
All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of University of the Pacific. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.
Date of Award
1997
Document Type
Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Martin Gipson
First Committee Member
Kenneth Beauchamp
Second Committee Member
Christopher Snell
Third Committee Member
Glen Albaugh
Abstract
Previous research has shown that the incidence of depression is high among newly retired professional male athletes. However, no research has focused on retirement's effects on women athletes. I measured depression and optimism in female college softball players upon retirement using 20 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I softball teams. Forty-one participants were retired and 181 were currently playing. Retired participants were defined as exhausting their college softball eligibility no longer than 3 years prior to the study. Depression was measured by scores on Beck's Depression Inventory (1968) and optimism was measured by scores on The Attributional Style Questionnaire (1978). Statistical methods (t-tests, Chi Square, and Wilkes Lambda) proved successful at finding differences between retirement groups. Results demonstrated that depression was a negative consequence for women in their first year of retirement. Overall, depression scores were lowest in participants in their third year of retirement. Demographic data indicated that remaining involved in sport at some level, either playing, coaching, or teaching, was related to lower depression scores. Results did not show differences in optimism scores. Overall, the results confirmed that retirement is not gender specific, in that women too experience severe emotional consequences when they retire from competition. Further research needs to be devoted to constructing an intervention that can help prepare college and professional athletes for this inescapable exit from sport.
Pages
85
ISBN
9780591727449 , 0591727447
Recommended Citation
Bolt, Michelle Elizabeth. (1997). Is the incidence of depression higher in retiring athletes than in currently playing athletes?. University of the Pacific, Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2640
To access this thesis/dissertation you must have a valid pacific.edu email address and log-in to Scholarly Commons.
Find in PacificSearch Find in ProQuestIf you are the author and would like to grant permission to make your work openly accessible, please email
Rights Statement
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
