Individual and team sports athletes in the transition from junior to senior sports
Halmstad University
School of Social and Health Sciences
Sport Psychology, 91-120 points, spring 2009 Supervisor: Natalia Stambulova
Co-supervisor: Fredrik Weibull
Examiner: Urban Johnson Author: Alina Franck ___________________________________________________________________
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Franck, A. (2009). Individual and team sports athletes in the transition from junior to senior sports. (Essay in sport psychology 91-120 hp) School of Social and Health Sciences.
Halmstad University.
Abstract
This quantitative study deals with the transition from junior to senior sports comparing
individual (ISA) and team (TSA) sports athletes in terms of: (a) differences between transition and personal variables, (b) relationships between transition and personal variables, (c)
contributions of some transition and personal variables into the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport. There were 195 participants, ISA (n = 49) and TSA (n = 146). Four instruments were used: the Transition Monitoring Survey, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire and the Physical Self Perception Profile (revised). Thirty significant differences in the transition and personal variables were found. There was a common pattern in the correlations between transition and personal variables and specific patterns for ISA and TSA. Coping strategies, body attractiveness, athletic identity and physical self-value appeared to be predictors for the quality of adjustment for ISA and coping strategies, ego orientation and physical self-value for TSA. The results are discussed in relation to theoretical frameworks and previous research.
Keywords: Individual sports athletes, team sports athletes, transition from junior to senior sports
Franck, A. (2009). Individuella och lag sports idrottare i övergången från junior till senior idrott. (Magisteruppsats Idrottspsykologi 91-120 hp) Sektionen för Hälsa och Samhälle.
Högskolan i Halmstad.
Sammanfattning
Den här kvantitativa studien handlar om övergången från junior till senior idrott och jämför individuella idrottare (II) och lag idrottare (LI) i: (a) skillnader i övergångs och personlighets variabler, (b) relationerna mellan övergångs och personlighets variabler, (c) hur några övergångs och personlighets variabler bidrar till idrottarnas anpassning till senior nivån. I studien deltog 195 idrottare, II (n = 49) och LI (n = 146). Fyra mätinstrument användes:
Enkäten Karriärövergången från Junior- till Senioridrott, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire and the Physical Self Perception Profile (revised). Trettio signifikanta skillnader i övergångs och personlighets variabler hittades. Det fanns ett gemensamt mönster i korrelationerna mellan övergångs och personlighets variablerna och de specifika monstrena för II och LI. Coping strategier, kroppsattraktivitet, idrottsidentitet och fysiskt självvärde verkade förutspå hur anpassade II var till senior nivån och coping strategier, ego motivation och fysiskt självvärde till hur anpassade LI var till senior nivån. Resultaten diskuterades med hjälp av teoretiskt referensram och tidigare forskning.
Nyckelord: Individuella idrottare, lag idrottare, övergången från junior till senior idrott
Introduction
When I was collecting the data for this study I had a talk with the coach for the girls handball team that is participating in the study (Personal communication, March 3, 2009). He shared his thoughts on individual and team sport athletes, and this is what he said:
I am a team athlete and have always been. Recently I started with golf together with a friend of mine who is an individual athlete. When I am going to hit the ball I always find it hard to focus because everyone is looking, and if I make a bad hit it’s my own fault.
But my friend has no problem focusing even though people are talking around him. I think this has to do with our backgrounds in sport. I am a coach for a girl’s team in handball and I can see that no one wants to be an individualist, but I think even in team sports it’s important to have athletes who are more individualist and who can take the final shot without hesitating.
Ludmila Engquist explained the difficulties she had to adjust to team sport which lead to a crisis. This is her comment on individual and team sport athletes: “I have always been an individual athlete with full control over everything…Now I have to work in the team and I totally lost this control. My part has not felt important…” (in Stambulova, 2003, p.108).
These are two perspectives on individual and team sport athletes, both showing that there are differences between individual and team sports. Research on athletes, nonathletes, individual sport athletes and team sport athletes started in the 1970s (Weinberg & Gould, 2003). These studies could not find any personality profile that distinguished athletes from nonathletes.
However, when looking at individual and team sport there were differences between the athletes personalities. Other studies have showed that many athletes withdraw from sport around the time of the transition from junior to senior sport (Vanden Auweele, De Martelaer, Rzewnicki, De Knop, & Wylleman, 2004; Butcher, Lindner, & Johns, 2002). Knowing all this, it is important to examine how individual and team sport athletes perceive demands, resources, barriers, coping strategies in the transition process from junior to senior sport (Stambulova, Johnsson, Hinic, & Weibull, 2008). This is important so that trainers, coaches and other sport leaders know how to assist athletes in the transition process.
Key terms of athletes’ career transitions Athletic career
“Athletic career is a term for a multiyear sport activity, voluntarily chosen by the person aimed at achieving his or her individual peak in athletic performance in or several sport events” (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007, p.713). The word “career” refers only to
competitive sports, on all levels. When the career starts and ends depend highly on the sports event. Some sports have an early career, as for example gymnastics, while other sports like marathon have a late career. Another view on athletic career is that it contains different stages from when the athlete starts to when the athlete ends his or her career (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004).
Career transition
Transition is a result from one or more events and is defined as a process (Wylleman &
Lavallee, 2004). “ Transitions come with a set of specific demands related to practice,
competitions, communication, and lifestyle that athletes have to cope with in order to continue successfully in sport or to adjust to the post career” (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007, p.713).
The transitions that athletes face can be divided into two categories, normative and non- normative transitions. A normative transition means that the transition is a part of the career development and can be predicted in advance; this can be the transition from junior to senior
level and the termination of the career. This gives the athlete a chance to be prepared. Non- normative transition, on the other hand, gives the athlete no predictability before the transition occurs; for example, an injury or change of a coach.
Individual and team athlete
Individual sport athletes practice in groups or individually. They compete individually and have individual results, which can be a part of a team result. Team sport athletes practice mostly in groups and they compete with a team and the team shares the results (Lindwall, Johnson & Åström, 2002).
Theoretical frameworks
Different models can be used to explain the athletic career transitions (Alfermann &
Stambulova, 2007). The Ecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) gives a good overview of how environmental factors affect an individual’s development. The Developmental model of transition faced by athletes (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004) is a descriptive model of the different stages during the athletic career. This type of model explains the transitions in a holistic view; the model describes the normative transitions that an athlete faces but does not explain the specific transition processes that the athlete goes through. To explain the process of a transition, the Athletic career transition model developed by Stambulova (2003) can be used. This model explains a transition process for example the transition from junior to senior level, from amateur to professional sport, and how an athlete copes with the transition.
The Ecological Model of Human Development
The Ecological Model of Human Development was devised by Bronfenbrenner (1979). The ecology of human development depends on two main things: the development of the
individual and the changes in the environmental settings around the individual. An individual is affected by both individual growth and environmental factors separately but also by the two combined. The model divides environmental factors into different levels such as macro-, exo-, meso- and microlevel. The macrolevel is a system containing the other levels, including culture and ideologies of the settings where the individual lives, economic situations, political aspects and major organizations. Different countries have different traditions which affect the individual’s development and the opportunities to play different sports depending on
popularity and conditions for various sports in the country. The exolevel includes settings that are important to the individual although the individual is not personally involved in the settings. A sport federation is a good example of this level. It has a major role in the
individual’s sport and development, but the individual is not active in the federation and has a little or no influence on the federation. The mesolevel refers to the local environment of the individual. It is the neighborhood, sport events, school environment, and the different settings in which the individual has an active role of participation. Another important part of the mesolevel is the interaction between the different settings and how an individual handles different settings at the same time. The microlevel is the environment closest to an individual, including parents, siblings, other family members, coaches, teachers and others. Situations where an individual interacts with these people can be in his or her home, school, playground, sport arena, etc. The relationships and the settings that the individual experience will
influence the individual’s growth and development.
Macro
The Developmental Model of Transition Faced by Athletes
This model, developed by Wylleman and Lavallee (2004), gives an overview of the normative transitions an athlete faces during the athletic career, in a holistic perspective (see Figure 2).
The age categories may differ between individuals depending on an individual’s abilities and development in and outside the sport. The model is divided into four levels: athletic,
psychological, psychosocial and academic. In the athletic level the career is divided into different stages from the initiation stage when the athlete enters the sport, until the athlete ends his/her career in the discontinuation stage. The development stage is when the athletes become more dedicated to their sport and the amount of training and the level of
specialization are increased. The mastery stage is when athletes reach their highest level of athletic performance. In the psychological level athletes go through three phases: childhood, adolescence and adulthood. During adolescence the individuals mature and develop a stronger identity. Adulthood comes with more responsibility for the athlete both in and outside the sport. The psychosocial level describes the importance of parents, siblings, peers, coaches etc.
during the different stages, and the educational development is shown in the academic level.
Here the model shows where the athlete is in the educational system during the different stages of the athletic career.
Age 10 15 20 25 30 35 Athletic
Level Initiation Development Mastery Discontinuation
Psychological Level
Childhood Adolescence Adulthood
Psychosocial
Level Parents
Siblings Peers
Peers Coach Parents
Partner
Coach Family
(Coach) Academic
Level
Primary Education
Secondary Education
Higher Education
Vocational training Professional occupation Figure 2: A Developmental model of transition faced by athletes (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004).
The Athletic Career Transition Model
The Athletic Career Transition Model developed by Stambulova (2003) focuses on demands, resources, barriers, coping strategies and the outcome in a transition (see Figure 3). This model may explain different transitions during the athletic career, one of which is the transition from junior to senior sport. The model shows how an athlete copes with the demands of the transition. How effectively an athlete copes with demands depends on the resources and barriers. Athletes’ resources can be personal factors like motivation and knowledge while the environmental factors for example can be social support. The barriers can also be personal for example a lack of motivation or low self-esteem and environmental, for example, a lack of social support and difficulties combining sport with work. Athletes can prepare for the demands that a normative transition might require, this means that the athlete can develop resources before the transition, so that he/she can use the resources to cope effectively with the transition demands. The model shows two main outcomes depending on how the athlete copes with the demands of the transition. The first outcome is a successful transition, which means that the athlete copes with the demands on his/her own. The other outcome is a crisis transition, which means that the athlete has coping difficulties, and therefore is in need for external help. If the intervention has a positive effect, the athlete will
Transition Demands Dynamic balance between coping resources & barriers
Coping
Effective (= successful transition)
Ineffective (= crisis-transitions)
Need interventions Psychological
crisis-coping interventions
Ineffective or no intervention
”costs” for failure to cope with the
transition Effective
Crisis Prevention interventions
Dealing – with – consequences interventions
have a successful but delayed transition. If the intervention does not have a positive effect, the athlete will face negative consequences, such as premature dropout or neuroses.
Figure 3: The Athletic Career Transition Model (Stambulova, 2003).
Previous research Individual vs. Team sports
Individual and team sport athletes have different personal characteristics (Weinberg & Gould, 2003). If different personalities are drawn to certain sports or if the sport environment creates different personalities are not clear (Eagleton, McKelvie, & De Man, 2007). Based on the study of Russian athletes, Stambulova (2006) summarized differences between individual and team sports athletes. The environmental setting in individual and team sport differs and therefore gives the athletes different conditions to develop as athletes.
Individual sport athletes are more introverted, have more individual goals, are more
independent and competition between the individual athletes is more common. These athletes have the possibility to control different situations, for example, trainings and competitions and they have higher responsibility over the results. In individual sports the athletes have a closer contact with the coach and parents are more often involved. ISA experience more stress over fear of overtraining, combining sport with studies, difficulties to perform and different psychological barriers. When looking at the athletic career, individual sport athlete’s transitions are from one level of competitions to another and they need to adapt to higher levels of training and competitions (Stambulova, 2006).
Team sports athletes goals are both individual and team goals and they also have less control over sport when situations because one athlete can not determine the outcome of trainings or competitions, it’s a result of the whole teams effort. This means that the whole team shares
the responsibility of training and competition. TSA have a closer relationship to their teammates and the athletes experiences more stress over; fear of making mistakes, conflict between their individual goals and the team goals, higher fear of injuries and conflicts in the team. Team sport athlete’s transition is from one team to another and their adaptation is more psychosocial because they need to find their place in the team both in and outside the sport (Stambulova, 2006). TSA compared with nonathletes have less abstract reasoning, are more extroverted and less ego orientated. Studies has also found that they are more anxious but less imaginative than individual sport athletes (Weinberg & Gould, 2003). They also have higher self-referenced competency, affiliation with peers, competitive excitement, positive parental involvement and enjoyment compared with individual sport athletes (McCarthy, Jones &
Clark-Carter, 2008). It has also been shown that team sport athletes are more accepting with cheating and gamesmanship than individual athletes (Lee, Whitehead, & Ntoumanis, 2007).
International research on career transition
Adolescence itself can be challenging with higher education and more influence of friends, for an athlete the sport context brings more issues for example injuries, higher levels of training and competition and more responsibility increase the demands for the athlete (Pearson & Petitpas, 1990; Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004). A study on Belgian track and field athletes (n = 167) of 14-18 years old who were champions in their age category and event (Vanden Auweele, De Martelaer, Rzewnicki, De Knop, & Wylleman, 2004). The results showed that 17 % of the athletes made it to the senior level, 31 % stagnated, 28 % performed irregularly and 24 % of the athletes dropped out. The transition from junior to senior sport is described as the most difficult one and has a very critical role in the athletic career and is the start of the perfection or mastery stage of the career (Stambulova, 1994, 2009). Athletes have to adapt to new demands in the transitions from junior to senior sport. These can be balancing sport goals with other life goals, finding his/her own path to succeed in their sport, to cope with pressure of selections, the need to win prestige among teammates/peers/judges and to cope with a potential relationship problem: athlete-coach, athlete-parents. If the athlete is unable to adjust to the demands this will lead to lower self-esteem, different forms of emotional discomfort, increased sensitivity to failures, increase the number of psychological barriers and disorientation in decision-making and behavior (Stambulova, 2000). Therefore an athlete is in need for psychological assistance.
To be able to cope with the demands of the transition athletes need external resources for example their parents’ emotional support (Wylleman, De Knop, Ewing, & Cumming, 2000;
Wuerth, Lee, & Alfermann, 2004). Parents play a significant role in their child’s participation in sport and it is important for the parents to find the right balance between pressure and support. The relationship between the athlete and his/her parents might be more important to the athlete’s career than the relationship between the athlete and the coach. However, most parents have an optimal parental involvement in their child’s sport but a minority of parents is under involved, indifference or pressuring (Gould, Lauer, Rolo, Jannes, & Pennisi, 2008).
Parents with a positive influence emphasized the child’s total development and gave their child emotional, financial and other support. The parents who had a negative influence were overly involved, had high demands, focused on the result and also made the coach’s work more difficult by interfering with decisions and activities. Athlete-coach-parent is a unit that must work for the athlete to develop and succeed (Salmela, Young, & Kallio, 2000). The parent’s role in the athlete’s career change from being supportive to be more active help to the athlete so that the athlete can reach his/her goals. Bruner, Munroe-Chandler and Spink (2008) study on rookie hockey players’ (n = 8) transitions to elite levels showed that the transition depended on two main outcomes: on-ice issues and off-ice issues. On-ice issues were the
importance of the coach and the coach’s support. Off-ice issues were the importance of veterans’ and rookie team mates’ support. The veterans could provide support from their own experiences, which was perceived as very helpful.
How well an athlete is able to combine sport with other activities depends on how the other settings such as school and other activities are willing to help with planning the athlete’s time (Pummel, Harwood, & Lavallee, 2008). Young event riders (n = 10) in the within-career transition from the developmental stage to the mastery stage felt support from their school but some of the riders felt it was difficult to combine schoolwork and sport. Sport organization could also be a source of stress; the riders felt a lack of training opportunities and a lack of communication with the organization. If the athlete continues involvement in high-level sport through his/her adolescence, the athlete may be less likely to explore other careers,
educations, and lifestyles (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004). There is a negative correlation between high athletic identity and experiencing and coping with career termination
(Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007). The retired athletes experience more negative emotions and traumatic incidents if their athletic identities are high. Erpic, Wylleman and Zupancic (2004) showed that athletes with high athletic identity had more trouble adjusting to their post-sports career. The athletes experienced the most difficulties in the psychosocial level with the lifestyle of being an athlete. Missing sports-related social activities and friends were the most difficult situations. Stephan and Brewer (2007) studied the athletes’ identification with their athletic roles and they found that the athletes remained focused on sport related goals. To maintain the self-definition several personal and social factors are important, among the social factors, media could enhance their feeling of being athletes. The participants in Lally’s study (2007) used a number of coping strategies and managed to avoid both the identity crisis and its emotional impact. The athletes decreased their identification with the athletic role and focused on their academic studies and career interests. They also involved themselves in other physical activities. Van Raalte and Andersen (2007) stated that the lack of motivation seems to be the most obvious factor in quitting sports. The social context needs to be motivational, because the social environment affects the goal achivement (Papaioannou, Ampatzoglou, Kalogiannis & Sagovits, 2008).
Swedish research on the transition from junior to senior sports
Several studies on the transition from junior to senior has been conducted in Sweden, the first one was made on elite tennis players, the study showed that parents who support their child in a positive way helped the child to develop (Carlson, 1988). Support can be helpful but when the support turns into pressure the athlete has more difficulties to develop and to perform.
Other studies that have been done are Ekengren’s (2002) study on handball players (n = 20) transition, Mavroidis (2005) study that focused on the role of coaches (n = 10) in the transition of male football players and Vujic (2004) made two case studies with one successful and one non-successful transition in swimming. In 2007 Cacija made a study on basketball players (n = 9) and Jorlén made a study on golf players (n = 9) transition from junior to senior sport. All studies showed that the transition from junior to senior sport include non-sport related factors. These studies also confirm that support from family and friends are important resources for the athlete. Training and competition levels increased and other demands that the athletes faced were more responsibility, combining sport with other activities like friends and schoolwork. To cope with these demands athletes used different coping strategies; having clear goals, planning sport and other activities and sometimes prioritize sport over other activities. All of these studies have been made with a qualitative approach a first study using a quantitative approach was made by Franck and Tuovila (2008).
This study showed that athletes in the beginning and athletes in the middle of the transition
from junior to senior sport had differences in demands, coping strategies, resources and perceived stress. For example the results showed that athletes in the middle of the transition felt that recovery was less important than athletes in the beginning of the transition. Athletes in the middle of the transition felt that the demands improving technical skills, planning for recovery between practices, recovery after competition/game and the relationship with coach, and with sport peers were less demanding than what athletes in the beginning perceived them to be. The athletes in the beginning of the transition also used the coping strategies: I try to give 100 % in each practice and competition, I focus on my recovery/energy restoration, I try to be patient and to see my progress as step-bystep process more than athletes in the middle of the transition. Athletes in the middle of the transitions also showed more adaptation to the transition process then athletes in the beginning (ibid).
Summary
The transition from junior to senior sport is one of the most important steps in an athlete’s career but the transition is also viewed as the most difficult transition. The athlete needs both environmental as well as personal resources to cope with the new demands that the transition requires. It is therefore important to gain more knowledge about the transition process from junior to senior sport so that the athletes can receive the proper assistance to help them cope with the transition. Previous research has also shown that individual and team sport athletes are different. So, do they experience the same things during the transition from junior to senior sport? This is what this study is about, to find out if there are common pattern and specific patterns for the two groups of athletes. Most of the previous studies done on the transition from junior to senior sports have been done with qualitative methodology and therefore quantitative studies are important, to help explain the transition process.
Objectives
This study deals with the transition from junior to senior sports comparing individual (ISA) and team (TSA) sports athletes in terms of:
(a) differences between transition and personal variables;
(b) relationships between transition variables and between transition and personal variables;
(c) contributions of some transition and personal variables into the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport.
Method Participants
The participants were 195 athletes recruited from different sports clubs in the southwest of Sweden, some of the participants were also students of sport high schools in Gothenburg and Halmstad. In the study there were 49 individual sports athletes (ISA), to participate in the study the athletes had to have started or in the near future going to start competing on the senior level of their sport. There were 146 team sports athletes (TSA), to participate in the study the team sport athletes had to have started or in the near future going to start practicing with a senior team. In the whole sample there were 135 males and 60 females, with the mean age of 16.80 years (SD = 1.22).
Table 1
Descriptive statistics for individual sports athletes (n = 49)
Table 1 shows that more than half of the ISA were on the international level and started their transition more than twelve months ago. The individual sports athletes represented: golf, table tennis, swimming, tennis, taekwondo, gymnastic, climbing, figure skating and track and field.
All, except one athlete, were students, and the majority did not work.
Table 2
Descriptive statistics for team sport athletes (n = 146)
Table 2 shows that the TSA were equally distributed on the different levels of competition and almost half of the athletes had started their transition more than twelve months ago. The team sports athletes represented: ice-hockey, soccer, handball and volleyball. All athletes, except two, were students, and the majority did not work.
Instruments
Participants were presented with a package of four instruments (see Appendix 1). The
Transition Monitoring Survey (TMS; © Stambulova, Weibull, Franck & Tuovila, 2008; see in Franck & Tuovila, 2008) is used to measure different transition variables. To measure
personal variables three instruments will be used: the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS; Brewer, Van Raalte & Lindner, 1993), the Task and Ego orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ; Duda, 1989) and the Physical Self-Perception Profile – Revised (PSPP-R; Lindwall, Hagger & Asci, 2007).
Age Gender Competition level Start of the
transition Training
hours School Work
Mean, Standard deviation
16.92 (1.24)
Frequency Male
(31) Local Level
(14) Less than
12 months (13)
Less than 14 hours
(23)
Yes
(48) Yes
(7)
Frequency Female
(18)
National Level (8)
More than 12 months
(34)
More than 14 hours
(26)
No (1)
No (42)
Frequency International
Level (27)
Age Gender Competition level Start of the transition
Training hours
School Work Mean,
Standard deviation
16.76 (1.22)
Frequency Male
(104)
Local Level (43)
Less than 12 months
(62)
Less than 14 hours
(76)
Yes (144)
Yes (15)
Frequency Female
(42) National Level
(45) More than
12 months (58)
More than 14 hours
(70)
No
(2) No
(131)
Frequency International
Level (58)
The Transition Monitoring Survey (TMS; © Stambulova, Weibull, Franck & Tuovila, 2008; see in Franck & Tuovila, 2008)
The TMS is based on the Athletic Career Transition Model (Stambulova, 2003), the Developmental model of transition faced by athletes (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004) and previous qualitative research on the transition from junior to senior sports conducted at Halmstad University. The TMS was tested by Franck and Tuovila (2008), and it showed acceptable psychometric values. The TMS is structured in three parts briefly described below.
In the first part, called Introduction, the questions examine general background information, such as age, gender and sport event. For the level of competition, the athlete could chose between local/district, national or international levels. There are four alternatives on how long ago the athlete started the transition: less than 6 month ago, between 6 and 12 months ago, between 1 and 2 years ago, more than 2 years ago. On the questions about how many hours per week the athlete spend on their sport, there are four options; less than 10 hours, between 10 and 14 hours, between 15 and 18 hours, more then 18 hours per week. There is also a possibility for the athlete to state if the hours they spend on their sport are different from how they usually spend their time. There is a “yes” or “no” question if the athlete is a student and also a question if the athlete is working and, if so, how many hours per week.
In the second part, entitled Current situation in sport and life, the athletes have to evaluate how important, and how satisfied they are with different spheres of their current life (e.g., sport, family, friends, schoolwork) and sport situations (e.g., sport practice, recovery etc.) On both importance and satisfaction the scale ranges from 1-10 where 1 = very low and 10 = very high. If any aspect was not relevant to the person the option n/a (not applicable) could be used.
In the third part, entitled The Transition process, different aspects of a transition process are presented as the following separate subscales: transition demands, coping strategies,
environmental support, environmental pressure, personal resources, current stress level and current need for additional help/support. Transition demands subscale (question 14) consists of 17 items, and the athlete must evaluate to what extent he/she currently needs to improve in various areas (e.g., “physical abilities and self-control during competition) in order to adjust on the senior level. The scale ranges from 1-10, where 1 = no need and 10 = very strong need.
Coping strategies (question 15) consists of 21 items and the athlete has to evaluate to what extent he/she is currently using coping strategies, for example “I have clear goals in sport”
and “I try to learn from others”. A scale from 1-10 is used, where 1 = not at all and 10 = use it very much. Environmental support (question 16) consists of 7 items and the athlete is
supposed to evaluate how much support he/she receives from, for example family, coach and teammates on a scale from 1-10, where 1 = very low and 10 = very high. Environmental pressure (question 17) consists of 7 items, for example pressure from family, coach and teammates. Personal resources (question 18) consist of 12 items (e.g., sport motivation and self-confidence). Questions 17 and 18 have the same structure as the question 16. In question 19, the athlete should estimate to what extent he/she currently feels adjusted on the senior level in sport on a scale from 0-100 %, where 0 = not at all adjusted and 100 = completely adjusted. Current stress level and current need for additional help/support (question 20) has two subscales, first the athlete shall evaluates how he/she perceive stress in different spheres of sport and life on a scale from 1-10, where 1 = very low and 10 = very high. Then the athlete evaluates how much additional help/support he/she needs to cope with the stress on a scale from 1-10, where 1 = no need and 10 = very strong need. The TMS ends with two questions about received or desired help from a sport psychologist. In the subscales on
transition demands, environmental support, environmental pressure, personal resources and current stress level and current need for additional help/support the athlete can choose the option (not applicable) if he/she feels that an item is not relevant.
The Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS; Brewer, Van Raalte & Lindner, 1993) The AIMS has ten items that measure a person’s identification with the athlete role. The items are evaluated on a seven-point scale, one item example is “Most of my friends train/exercise”.
High scores on the AIMS indicates high athletic identity. The Swedish version of AIMS has been used in several studies (e.g., Gestranius, 2006, Richard, 2008) and showed acceptable psychometric values.
The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ; Duda, 1989)
The TEOSQ has 13 items that indicate Task or Ego orientation. Six of the items indicate Ego orientation, for example, “The other are not as good as me”. Seven items indicate Task orientation, for example, “I learn something that is fun to do”. The athlete evaluates the items on a five-point scale. The Swedish version of TEOSQ has been used in several studies (e.g., Gestranius, 2006) and showed acceptable psychometric values.
The Physical Self-Perception Profile – Revised (PSPP-R; Lindwall, Hagger & Asci, 2007) The PSPP-R has 74 items and measures five factors such as sport competence, strength, condition, body attractiveness and physical self-value. To these five factors there are also five additional factors that evaluate how important the athlete perceives these factors. Each factor is covered by six items which athletes rate from 1-4 reflecting on how much the item is true for them. “I am very satisfied with how my body looks” is one example of the items in the PSPP-R. The PSPP-R also measures global self-esteem, and “Generally I am very satisfied with my self” is one item example for global self-esteem. The Swedish version of the PSPP has been used in previous studies (e.g., Lindwall, 2004, Gestranius, 2006) and showed acceptable psychometric values.
Procedure
With organizational support from Hallands Idrottsförbund the participants were located. First, a representative from of The Hallands Sport Federation provided the contact information for several sport clubs/sport highs schools in the southwest of Sweden. Second, the clubs/schools were contacted and informed about the study, the clubs/schools that were interested to
participate provided contact information for the trainer/principal of the team/group that could be of interest for the study. Third, trainers/principals were contacted and if the interest was shown, time and date were decided for a meeting with the researcher. The trainers/principals were informed about the key aspects of the study, and they provided their informed consent for the athletes to participate. The author was present during the meetings with the athletes and informed them about the study and related ethical issues (e.g., confidentiality and their right to withdraw from the study at any time). Each package of the research instruments had an informed consent form attached to the written information about the study and ethical issues that the participants signed before conducting the survey (see Appendix 1). If athletes had any question about the survey/questionnaires they could ask the author. The data collection was organized before, during or after the athletes’ training/class.
Data analysis
The data collected was brought into SPSS. Data analysis was made in five steps with SPSS 16.0 having the objectives for the study in mind.
Step 1: Descriptive statistics were computed on the background information from the first part of the TMS, for the whole sample and also for the two groups, such as ISA and TSA.
Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) were computed for all items of the TMS, for AIMS total, the two subscales of TEOSQ and the eleven subscales of PSPP-R for the whole sample (see Appendix 2) and for the two groups (ISA and TSA).
Step 2: The means were calculated for all TMS subscales (the abbreviations used in the correlation tables are showed in the parenthesis): importance of different spheres of life and sport (Importance life and sport), satisfaction with different spheres of life and sport
(satisfaction life and sport), transition demands (demands), coping strategies, environmental support (support), environmental pressure (pressure), personal resources, quality of
adjustment to the senior level of sport (adjustment), current stress level (stress) and current need for additional help/support (help/support).
Step 3: ANOVA-tests were performed on the two groups of ISA and TSA on the items in the TMS, AIMS total, the two subscales (task total and ego total) of TEOSQ and for all eleven subscales of PSPP-R. The differences were considered significant if the p-value was under 0.05.
Step 4: Correlation analyses, Persons r, were conducted in order to examine the relationships between the different subscales of the TMS and AIMS total, TEOSQ (task total and ego total) and the 11 factors of the PSPP-R. Correlation analysis, Persons r, were also conducted to examine the relationship between: importance of different spheres of life and sport, satisfaction with different spheres of life and sport, transition demands, coping strategies, environmental support, environmental pressure, personal resources, quality of adjustment to the senior level of sport, current stress level and current need for additional help/support. The different correlation analyses were made for the whole sample as well as for the two groups (ISA and TSA). The correlations were considered significant if the p-value was under 0.05.
Step 5: Multiple regression analyses using Backwards was made to test if the predictors, such as coping strategies (subscale mean), environmental support (subscale mean), AIMS total, TEOSQ (task total and ego total), sport competence, strength, condition, body attractiveness, physical self-value and self-esteem can predict the criterion variable “quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport” for the two groups of individual and team sports athletes. The regressions were considered significant if the p-value was under 0.05.
Results
Summary of transition and personal variables for the whole sample
The descriptive statistics for the whole sample can be found in Appendix 2. It shows that the athletes in this study value sport, family and friends to be the most important spheres of their life and these are also the spheres of their lives that they are most satisfied with. Sport practice and competition are the two aspects of their sport life that are the most important to the athletes, and these are also the two aspects that the athletes are the most satisfied with. The athletes felt that they needed to improve physical condition, mental skills and performance in competition the most in order to adjust on the senior level of sport. The three coping strategies that the athletes used the most were as follows: “I try to keep good relationship with people around me”, “I try to give 100 % in each practice and competition”, “I persist in my tasks in spite of fatigue, pain or failure”. The athletes felt the most support from their family and teammates, and the most pressure from their coach and the financial situation. The athlete’s
strongest personal resources were self-expectations and sport motivation. The mean for quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport was 63.44 (SD = 22.90). Athletes perceived injury rehabilitation to be the most stressful and also the aspect they needed assistance with.
The athletes had high athletic identity (M = 5.51, SD = 1.10) and they had higher task
orientation (M = 4.15, SD = 0.61) than ego orientation (M = 3.23, SD = 0.79). Self esteem (M
= 3.35, SD = 0.60) was also high for the athletes.
The correlation test showed that the different subscales of the TMS correlated with at least one of the subscales from AIMS, TEOSQ and PSPP-R (see Appendix 3). The majority of correlations were between personal variables and transition variables, such as coping strategies, environmental support, environmental pressure and personal resources.
Differences in the transition and personal variables between individual and team sports athletes
To compare the two groups of ISA and TSA on the transition variables one-way ANOVA was used. The results are presented in Table 3.
Table 3
Means, standard deviations and F-values for the transition variables in individual and team sports athletes (only significant differences are shown)
Variables Individual Sport
Athletes (n =49)
Team Sport Athletes (n = 146)
F-value
Importance of different spheres of life
Sport 8.38 (1.89) 9.18 (1.54) 8.87**
Satisfaction with different spheres of life
Sport 7.83 (2.14) 8.59 (1.79) 5.80*
Studies 6.42 (2.23) 5.42 (2.52) 5.72*
Importance of different aspects in sport
Sport practice 8.50 (1.61) 9.12 (1.44) 6.27*
Competition 8.35 (2.02) 9.25 (1.41) 11.38**
Recovery 7.64 (2.26) 8.34 (1.78) 4.59*
Satisfaction with different aspects in sport
Sport practice 7.69 (2.16) 8.61 (1.66) 9.14**
Competition 7.61 (2.15) 8.81 (1.85) 13.05**
Transition demands Preparation for a competition/game
5.85 (2.46) 4.93 (2.72) 4.24*
Self-control during competition 5.77 (2.49) 4.52 (2.60) 8.28**
Performance in competition 7.43 (1.89) 6.00 (2.68) 11.39**
Coping Strategies
I have clear goals in sport 6.71 (1.99) 7.67 (2.38) 6.38*
I prioritize sport goals 6.33 (2.51) 7.54 (2.26) 9.90**
I try to give 100% in each
practice and competition 7.98 (1.91) 8.85 (1.56) 10.04**
I try to learn from others 7.57 (1.84) 8.20 (1.83) 4.22*
Environmental support
Family 8.33 (2.29) 9.08 (1.67) 6.15*
Environmental pressure
Coach 6.27 (1.88) 7.47 (1.83) 15.59**
Teammates 5.59 (2.45) 7.16 82.02) 16.91**
Club/Federation 5.51 (2.42) 6.42 (2.64) 4.13*
Personal resources
Sport motivation 7.53 (2.14) 8.51 (2.11) 7.80**
Self-expectations 7.82 (1.91) 8.74 (1.80) 9.39**
Current physical conditions 6.57 (2.11) 7.26 (1.89) 4.61*
Current mental abilities 6.25 (1.96) 6.97 (2.03) 4.77*
Former injuries 3.62 (2.60) 5.46 (2.77) 13.77**
Current stress level
Sport recovery 3.10 (2.16) 3.95 (2.49) 4.51*
Quality of adjustment to the senior
level of sport 56.84 (19.68) 65.71 (23.54) 5.61*
Note: Df = 1; *p<.05; **p<.01
The results showed 26 significant differences in the transition variables between ISA and TSA. These differences were found in all subscale in the TMS except for current need in additional help/support.
In the, Current situation in sport and life, the results showed that the TSA viewed sport to be more important than ISA and they also were more satisfied with sport than the ISA. However, individual sport athletes were more satisfied with their studies. Team sport athletes viewed sport practice, competition and recovery to be more important than individual sport athletes.
They were also more satisfied with sport practice and competition than individual sport athletes.
In the, The Transition process, ISA perceived preparation for a competition/game, self- control during competition and performance in competition to be more challenging than the TSA. Significant differences were also found on the coping strategies, such as I have clear goals, I prioritize sport goals, I try to give 100 % in each practise and competition and I try to learn from others. TSA used these coping strategies more actively ISA athletes. ISA received less support from their family than TSA, however, TSA felt more pressure from their coach, teammates and the club/federation. Sport motivation, self-expectations, current physical conditions, current mental abilities are the personal resources that were stronger for TSA.
However, TSA have had more difficult injuries than the ISA. The TSA also experienced
higher stress related to sport recovery. The TSA had also higher quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport than ISA.
To compare: individual and team sports athletes on personal variables one-way ANOVA was used. The results are presented in Table 4.
Table 4
Means, standard deviations and F-values for personal variables in individual and team sports athletes (only significant differences are shown)
Variables Individual Sport
Athletes (n =49)
Team Sport Athletes (n = 146)
F-value
AIMS
Athletic Identity 5.00 (0.98) 5.68 (1.08) 14.58**
PSPP-R
Importance of sport competence 2.52 (0.48) 2.89 (0.69) 12.42**
Importance of perceived condition 3.22 (0.47) 3.40 (0.53) 4.18*
Importance of perceived strength 2.31 (0.58) 2.61 (0.73) 6.94**
Note: Df = 1; *p<.05; **p<.01
The results showed four significant differences between individual and team sport athletes in the personal variables. Both individual and team sport athletes had high athletic identity, however, team sport athletes had significantly higher athletic identity than individual sport athletes. TSA perceived their sport competence, condition and strength as being higher than ISA.
Relationships between the transition variables for individual and team sport athletes Correlation tests were made to examine relationships between the different subscales of the TMS for individual and team sports athletes. The test showed 22 correlations that were similar for the two groups (see Appendixes 4-5). The correlations were found between all subscales except for the subscales “transition demands” and “current stress level”.
Five correlations were specific for individual sports athletes. One negative correlation was found between importance of different aspects of sport and stress level. Satisfaction with sport showed positive relationship with the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport and satisfactions with different aspects of sport also showed a negative relationship with stress level. Both environmental support and pressure had positive correlations with transition demands.
Fifteen correlations were specific for team sports athletes. Importance of different spheres of life had positive correlations with satisfaction with different aspects of sport, coping strategies and environmental support and it had a negative correlation with stress level. Satisfaction of different spheres of life had positive correlations with both environmental support and
pressure. There were also positive correlations between demands and stress level and the need for additional help/support.
Relationships between the transition and personal variables for individual and team sports athletes
Correlation tests were made to examine relationships between the subscales of the TMS and the AIMS, the two subscales of TEOSQ and the eleven subscales of PSPP-R for individual and team sports athletes (see Appendixes 6 & 7). The correlation tests showed that there were 26 correlations that were similar for individual and team sport athletes. Both groups had positive relationships between athletic identity and different subscales of the TMS. Task orientation also showed similar correlations for individual and team sport athletes. There were positive relationships between sport competence, perceived condition, body attractiveness, perceived strength, physical self-value and personal resources for individual and team sport athletes. Self-esteem of individual and team sport athletes related to their satisfaction with different spheres of life, satisfaction with different aspects in sport and personal resources.
There were three correlations between quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport and the personal variables such as athletic identity, sport competence and perceived strength that were shared by individual and team sports athletes. No personal variables correlated with transition demands for neither individual nor team sports athletes.
Eleven correlations were specific for individual sports athletes. Athletic identity showed a positive relation with how satisfied the athletes were with different spheres of life. There was also a relationship between satisfaction with different spheres of life and task orientation, but no significant relationships for ego orientation were found. The subscales of importance of sport competence, body attractiveness, importance of body attractiveness and importance of strength showed relationships with the quality of adjustment on the senior level.
There were 51 correlations found that were specific for team sports athletes. Athletic identity showed positive relationship with importance of different spheres of life, environmental pressure and the need for additional help/support. There was also a positive correlation between task orientation and importance of different spheres of life and environmental support. Positive correlations was also found between ego orientation and importance of different aspects of sport, satisfaction with different aspects of sport, coping strategies, environmental support, environmental pressure, personal resources and quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport. Most of the correlations between the subscales of TMS coping strategies, environmental support and environmental pressure showed majority of the
correlation with the subscales of PSPP-R. Self-esteem also showed positive relationship with several subscales of the TMS.
Contribution of the transition and personal variables to the quality of adjustment on the senior level in individual and team sports
Multiple regression analyses was used to test if the predictors, such as coping strategies, environmental support, AIMS total, TEOSQ (task total and ego total), sport competence, strength, condition, body attractiveness, physical self-value and self-esteem can explain the criterion variable “quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport” for individual and team sports athletes.
For individual sports athletes the results showed a significant relationship between the criterion variable “quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport” and the predictors (coping strategies, athletic identity, body attractiveness and physical self-value), R2 adj. = 0.34, F (2.42) = 6.95, p = 0.001. The significant predictors were body attractiveness (Beta = 0.649, p = 0.001), physical self-value (Beta = -0.438, p = 0.025) and athletic identity (Beta = 0.282, p = 0.41). This means that the predictors explain 34 % of the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport and the higher body attractiveness, lower physical self-value and higher athletic identity the more ISA feel adjusted on the senior level in their sports.
For team sports athletes the results showed significant relationship between the criterions variable “quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport” and the predictors (coping strategies, ego orientation and physical self-value), R2 adj. = 0.086, F (3,136) = 5.35, p = 0.002. The significant predictor was ego orientation (Beta = 0.256, p = 0.006). This means that the predictors explains 8.6 % of the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport and the higher ego orientation in TSA the more they feel adjusted on the senior level in their sports.
Discussion
The objectives of the study were to compare individual and team sports athletes in terms of:
(a) differences between the transition and personal variables, (b) relationships between the transition variables and between transition and personal variables, (c) contributions of some transition and personal variables into the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport.
The results showed both a common pattern and two specific patterns: one for ISA and the other for TSA.
Common pattern in the transition from junior to senior sport
A half of the athletes in the two groups (ISA and TSA) had started their transition more than twelve months ago and most of the athletes were students and a few of them were working.
The athletes valued sport to be very important part of their current life and the athletes had high athletic identity, which also showed positive relationship with sport importance and satisfaction. Task orientation also had positive relationships with different aspects of the transition process, such as, how important and satisfied the athletes are with sport and also how athletes use coping strategies and personal resources. The self-esteem had positive relationship with how satisfied the athletes were with both their current life and sport situation. There was a relationship between the athlete’s self-esteem level and their personal resources: the higher self-esteem the more their personal resources can facilitate their transition. Athletic identity, sport competence and perceived strength have positive
relationships with the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport, and coping strategies can help to predict how the athlete will adjust on the senior level of sport, the better the athletes use coping strategies the better he/she will adjust to the senior level. Physical self- value is another predictor for the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport for the two groups, however, for ISA physical self-value has a negative relationship and for the TSA it has a positive relationship. There were several relationships between the different parts of the TMS that were similar for ISA and TSA.
Specific pattern in the transition from junior to senior sport for ISA
More than a half of the athletes were on international level, which meant that the level of the athletes were quite high. They felt that sport was a very important part of their life and they were also satisfied with their sport. School were also a part of their lives that they were satisfied with more than TSA.
The athletes perceived demands in the transition from junior to senior sport to be aspects related to competition, such as, preparation for a competition/game, self-control during competition and performance in competition. The athletes may perceive these aspects to be demanding in higher levels of competition that they need to perform in to make it as a senior sport athlete. They used coping strategies but not to the same extent as the TSA and they also felt lower support from their families than TSA. But on the other hand the athletes felt lower pressure from their coach, teammates and club/federation than the TSA. Personal resources
were relatively high for the athletes and they had few previous injuries which will facilitate their transitions as well as their personal resources. The personal resources also had several positive relationships with the personal characteristics: athletic identity, sport competence, perceived condition, body attractiveness, perceived strength, physical self-value and self- esteem. Interestingly the ISA showed several relationships between task orientation and satisfactions with their current life and several other aspects of the transition but there were no relationships found between ego orientation and the transition variables.
The athletes evaluated themselves to be more than 50 % adjusted on the senior level and there were relationships found for quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport and importance of sport competence, body attractiveness, importance of body attractiveness and importance of strength. What interesting is that most of the relationships were with the importance of personal characteristics and not with how the athlete perceived their personal characteristics.
Athletic identity and body attractiveness are predictors specifically for the ISA quality of adjustment on the senior level, this means that high athletic identity and body attractiveness can help to predict how an ISA feel adjust as a senior. Physical self-value was another predictor but it had a negative correlation which means that high physical self-value will make the athletes feel less adjusted on the senior level in their sport. The athletes also showed negative relationships between importance/satisfaction with different aspects of sport and their stress level and there were positive relationships between support/pressure and demands.
Specific pattern in the transition from junior to senior sport for TSA
The TSA were equally distributed on the different levels local, national and international. This shows that there was a bigger spread in the level for TSA then in the ISA. The athletes valued sport to be more important than ISA and they were also more satisfied with their sport. The athletes also felt that sport practice, competition and recovery were more important than the ISA.
Demands related to competition were not as challenging as the ISA felt, this can be because the TSA can rely on their teammates and therefore they don not have the same responsibility as the ISA has for their performance. They also used coping strategies more than the ISA, they had more clear goals in sport and they prioritized the sport goals. They also felt that they gave 100 % in both practice and competition, this can be because they need to stand out from their teammates. At the same time they learned from others as a way of coping with the transition from junior to senior sport. The athletes also felt high support from their family which can facilitate their transitions but the athletes felt pressure from their coach, teammates and club/federation which can make the transition more difficult. They felt that they had high sport motivation and self-expectations as well as other personal resources, this can also facilitate their transition. The athletes had more difficult injuries compared to the ISA and they also perceived more stress because of sport recovery. They also had high athletic identity and they felt that sport competence and perceived condition were important.
There were a lot more correlations between transition and personal variables for the TSA than for ISA. A reason can be the fact that they are three times as many as the ISA. There were positive relationships between athletic identity and the importance of different aspects of life and pressure. Task orientation also showed positive relationships with the importance of different aspects of life and support. The interesting part here is the relationships between ego orientation and seven of the transition subscales. Most of the personal characteristics had relationships with coping strategies, support and pressure. Ego orientation and the importance of sport competence had positive relationship with the quality of adjustment on the senior
level of sport. Ego orientation and physical self-value can help to predict the quality of
adjustment for TSA. The higher ego orientation and physical self-value the more athletes feels adjusted on the senior level of their sports. For the relationships between the different parts of the TMS the athletes had specific relationships between demands and stress level as well as with the need for additional help/support. Their stress level correlated negatively with the importance of different aspects of their life and also positively with pressure.
Results related to the theoretical frameworks
The correlations tests showed relationships between most of the subscales of the TMS, these results support the Athletic career transition model (Stambulova, 2003). For example demands had relationships with the support and pressure that the athletes perceived as well as their current stress level and need for additional help/support. The pressure that the athletes perceive can affect the level of transition demands, the athletes may feel pressure to perform and therefore perceive it more difficult to perform during competition. This can also show that the higher levels of transition demands require more support from family, coach, teammates etc, for the athlete to be able to cope with the challenges. To cope with the transition athletes also need to rely on their personal resources. In this study sport motivation and self-
expectations were their strongest personal resources. Coping strategies that the athletes in this study used the most were: “I try to give 100 % in each practise and competition”, “I persist in my tasks in spite of fatigue, pain or failures” and “I try to learn from others”. The higher level of coping and personal resources the higher the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sports. Coping strategies (the subscale mean) was also a predictor for the athlete’s quality of adjustment on the senior level.
There were positive relationships between importance of different spheres of life and the satisfaction of different spheres of life and the importance of different aspects of sport. The athlete’s also perceived transition demands both in and outside the sport, such as improving physical condition and combining sport with school/work. This shows that it is important to view the transition from junior to senior sport in a holistic perspective, which is supportive to Developmental model of transition faced by athletes (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004). Different personal variables showed relationships with the athlete’s satisfaction with life and sport and also with the importance of different aspects of sport. These personal characteristics were athletic identity, task orientation, sport competence and global self-esteem. All of the relations were positive, which means that the higher levels of these personal characteristics the more satisfied the athletes were with sport and life. For example the personal characteristic athletic identity can also help to predict the quality of adjustment on the senior level of sport for ISA.
During the transition from junior to senior sport athletes perceive both resources and barriers from the environment around them, these are called micro, meso and exo levels in the Ecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The athletes in the transition from junior to senior sports felt support from their family and teammates the most and they also felt support from their coach. These are important resources in the transition from junior to senior sports which facilitate the transition for the athletes. The athletes felt the highest pressure from their coach and they also felt pressure from teammates, club/federation and their financial situation. These environmental pressures made the transition more difficult for the athletes.
Common pattern in the transition from junior to senior sport for ISA and TSA related to previous research
Most of the athletes were both athletes and students and a few of them were athletes, students and had a work. It is therefore important to consider all aspects both in and outside sport for the athletes in the transition from junior to senior sports (Franck & Tuovila, 2008). The athlete’s life outside sport affects their sport life, and vice versa. The athletes experienced demands both in and outside the sport, this supports the previous research (e.g., Stambulova, 1994; Stambulova, 2009). Previous studies on career termination (e.g., Alferman &
Stambulova, 2007; Erpic et al., 2004) have showed that athletes with high athletic identity have more difficulties with dealing with the termination. For the transition from junior to senior sport this is the opposite, athletes with high athletic identity show positive correlation with how important and satisfying sport is. Athletic identity has also positive correlation with how the athletes cope with the transition and their personal resources. Previous research has also showed that athletic identity can help athletes to stay focused on their sport goals (Stephan & Brewer, 2007). Self-esteem also has a positive relationship with how satisfied they are with their current life and sport.
No previous study has tested if personal factors or transition variables can predict the quality of adjustment to the senior level of sport. However, the results showed that coping strategies could help to predict the adjustment for both ISA and TSA. Previous studies (Stambulova, 2009) have showed that coping is important in the transition from junior to senior sport.
Specific pattern in the transition from junior to senior sport for ISA related to previous research
The ISA felt that they were satisfied both with sport and with school. It is important that different aspects of an athlete’s life work together for the athlete to be able to deal with the transition from junior to senior sport (Pummel et al., 2008; Vujic, 2004). Because almost a half of the participants are from sport highs schools, it can indicate that attending a sport high school can be helpful when trying to combine school with sport in the transition from junior to senior. These can be one reason to why the ISA are satisfied with their studies.
The athletes experienced the demands, such as preparation for a competition/game, self- control during competition and performance in competition. Previous research has showed that athletes have the possibility to control different situations such as competition
(Stambulova, 2006). But this control may decrease when the athlete face higher demands for example to perform on a higher level than the athlete is used to. In the transition from junior to senior sports the level of competition increases and as well as the demands (Jorlén, 2007).
This can make the athletes feel that they have lost part of their control and therefore
experience this as demanding. The ISA felt support from their family, which is an important environmental resource in the transition from junior to senior sport (Carlson, 1988). However, the athlete’s support from their families was lower than TSA and for ISA there was also relationship between support and demands and between demands and pressure. This is similar to what has been showed in other studies (e.g., Carlson, 1988; Gould et al., 2008) that support is helpful but sometimes support can lead to pressure which in return can turn into higher demands.
Interesting results in this study are the positive relationships between task orientation and different aspects of the transition, such as, satisfaction with different spheres of life, importance of different aspects of sport, satisfaction with different aspect of sport, coping strategies and personal resources for ISA and especially a lack of relationship between ego orientation and aspects of the transition. This differs from previous research that shows that individual sports athletes are more ego orientated (Weinberg & Gould, 2003),
