Examination of the relationship between athletic identity and career maturity in student athletes

Career maturity and college students : a case study comparison of student-athletes and non-athletes at a Division I institution

“…One side of the argument presents the perspective that there is a connection between athletic identity and engagement in the career development process. It is suggested that the stronger this athletic identity, the less likely college student-athletes are to explore any other career options (Brown & Hartley, 1998;Houle, 2010;Houle & Kluck, 2015). Houle and Kluck (2015) noted that college student-athletes with stronger attachments to their athletic identities exhibited lower levels of career maturity, while Houle (2011) supports the notion that college student-athletes' disproportionate connection to their athletic identities was linked to little or no engagement in the career decision-making process.…”

“…It is suggested that the stronger this athletic identity, the less likely college student-athletes are to explore any other career options (Brown & Hartley, 1998;Houle, 2010;Houle & Kluck, 2015). Houle and Kluck (2015) noted that college student-athletes with stronger attachments to their athletic identities exhibited lower levels of career maturity, while Houle (2011) supports the notion that college student-athletes' disproportionate connection to their athletic identities was linked to little or no engagement in the career decision-making process. Research conducted by Brown and Hartley (1998) found that college student-athletes who possessed a strong connection to their athletic identities, were less likely to pursue career development activities that fall outside of the realm of being athletes.…”

“…Even for those college student-athletes who excel academically, the daily balancing act that characterizes the life of a typical college student-athlete can be wrought with pressure and stress (Carodine, Almond, & Gratto, 2001). In fact, their worlds can be described as overwhelming and even burdensome at times (Houle, 2010).…”

“…More recently, additional studies measured the relationship between gender and career maturity among Division I college student-athletes and found that female student-athletes exhibited higher levels of career maturity (Ahlgren, 2001;Houle, 2010;Hughes, 2005).…”

“…Thus, the concept of career maturity has been examined as part of the research surrounding student-athletes and career development for some time (Blann, 1985;Brown & Hartley, 1998;Cox et al, 2009;Houle, 2010;Kennedy & Dimick, 1987;Martens & Cox, 2000;Murphy et al, 1996;Smallman & Sowa, 1996;Sowa & Gressard, 1983), and has been definitively linked to Super's work. This supports it use as the theoretical framework for this study.…”