International student-athlete perception of college sport and its effect on adjustment to college.

Abstract

This dissertation is dedicated to my loving wife, Stephanie, who has been with me every step of the way as I pursued this goal of completing my doctoral program. She has been incredibly encouraging and understanding throughout the process and she makes the rewards of completion twice as enjoyable.I also would like to dedicate this work to my parents, Rod and Milli, who helped raise me to be both academically inquisitive and a true lover of sports. Without their guidance, I would not be where I am today. compare to domestic student-athletes. The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to detect differences between international and domestic student-athletes in regards to adaptation to college, (b) to detect differences between international and domestic student-athletes in regards to their view of the purpose of college sports, and (c) to determine whether student-athletes' views on the purpose of college sport help predict social adjustment to college or institutional attachment.A national sample of international and domestic student-athletes from 11 NCAA Division I institutions completed an instrument comprised of the social adjustment and institutional attachment scales from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker and Siryk, 1989) and the seven factor scales from a modified version of the Purpose of Sport Questionnaire developed by Duda (1989). A total of 288 studentathletes completed the instrument, 174 of whom were international student-athletes representing 49 different countries.vii Results showed international student-athletes scored significantly lower on the social adjustment and institutional attachment scales compared to domestic studentathletes. Among the seven purpose of sport factors, only the factor of competitiveness revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, with international student-athletes ranking the factor lower than domestic student-athletes. None of the purpose of sport factors significantly predicted social adjustment to college for either domestic or international student-athletes. Several purpose of sport factors significantly predicted institutional attachment, however. A discussion of results and their implications are outlined.

The transitioning process: A qualitative case study of international swimming and diving student-athletes competing in the NCAA

“…Other research indicates international student-athletes have different intrinsic motivations as compared to domestic student-athletes (Stokowski, Huffman, & Aicher, 2013). Additionally, adjustment differences exist among both populations, as international student-athletes deal with unique issues such as language barriers (Sato, Hodge, & Burge-Hall, 2011) and other social and academic concerns (Popp, 2008).…”

Japanese international student-athletes’ adjustment experience at the National Collegiate Athletic Association

“…Regarding the impact of cold and inclement weather on personal emotional adjustment, Searle and Ward (1990) found that religion, language, and climate are often the most important factors separating international students from their new cultural context, causing significant conflict. Popp (2007) also reported that the ISA recognizes climate adjustment as a challenge.…”

International student-athlete transition into collegiate sport in the United States

“…The transition into US collegiate sport for ISA not only includes the typical obstacles associated with adapting to college, such as navigating socialization opportunities, experiences of homesickness, or interpreting differences in academic structure, but also those related to joining a new system within sport in an unfamiliar cultural setting. Awareness of potential hindrances, such as communication barriers, role ambiguity, and unfamiliar norms, is essential in order to assertively take action to meet the needs of ISA (Bruner, Munroe-Chandler, & Spink, 2008;Popp, 2007;Pierce et al, 2011). Additionally, coping skills, psycho-social interventions, phases in adaptation, and other approaches to resource development for athlete transitions to advanced training centers have received increasing attention from sport psychologists (e.g., Poczwardowski, Diehl, O'Neil, Cote, & Haberl, 2014;Stambulova et al, 2012;Stambulova, Pehrson, & Olsson, 2017).…”