NCAA Division I Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Sport Psychology Consultation: The Development of an Objective Instrument

Abstract

A 50-item questionnaire measuring athletes’ attitudes toward seeking a sport psychology consultant (ATSSPCQ) was initially developed and then administered to 48 African American and 177 Caucasian student-athletes at a NCAA Division I university. Principal components factor analyses were conducted to extract initial factors and then varimax orthogonal rotation was performed. The analyses produced three dimensions of athlete attitude that accounted for 35% of the variance: stigma tolerance, confidence in a SPC/recognition of need, and interpersonal openness/willingness to try a SPC. A MANOVA and follow-up discriminant function analyses were then performed to identify the factors that maximized differences between gender and race. Significant differences in stigma tolerance were found for both gender and race. SPCs were stigmatized more by male athletes than by female athletes and more by African American athletes than by Caucasian athletes. No other significant effects were obtained.

Attitudes toward sport psychology consulting of adult athletes from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany

“…The findings of this investigation extend previous studies (e.g., Linder et al, 1991;Linder et al, 1989;Maniar et al, 2001;Martin et al, 2001;Martin et al, 1997;Yambor & Connelly, 1991;Van Raalte, Brewer, Brewer, & Linder, 1992;Van Raalte et al, 1990;Wrisberg & Martin, 1994) that have reported individual differences in people's attitudes about sport psychology consultation as a function of gender. In the present study, male athletes stigmatized sport psychology consultation more than did female athletes.…”

“…Likewise, as has been identified by subsequent research, a difference between male and female athletes' attitudes toward sport psychology consulting was expected. The present investigation extends previous research (e.g., Martin et al, 1997) by exploring whether athletes from different countries have different attitudes about sport psychology consulting. In addition, we investigate whether differences are evident between athletes who participate in sports that involve physical contact as compared to those who participate in sports that physical intimidation and physical contact with other individuals rarely if ever occurs.…”

“…Evidence from some counseling research indicates that attitudes toward seeking help are not solely a function of gender and ethnicity, but a function of their interaction (e.g., Ponterotto, Anderson, & Grieger, 1986). Although this interaction has not been shown in attitudes toward seeking sport psychology consulting of African-American and Caucasian athletes in the United States (Martin et al, 1997;Wrisberg & Martin, 1994), it may be seen in athletes from other ethnic groups.…”

“…Although data are available on adults' expectations and attitudes about seeking help from counselors and sport psychology consultants (see Martin et al, 2001), few data exist related to athletes' nationality, ethnicity or cultural identity and their willingness and openness to seek sport psychology help (see Kontos & Breland-Noble, 2002;Martin et al, 1997;Wrisberg & Martin, 1994). Evidence from some counseling research indicates that attitudes toward seeking help are not solely a function of gender and ethnicity, but a function of their interaction (e.g., Ponterotto, Anderson, & Grieger, 1986).…”

“…Recent attempts have been made to develop a measurement tool to assess athletes' expectations and attitudes about sport psychology consulting (Harmison, Petrie & Martin, 2001;Martin et al, 2001;Martin et al, 2002;Martin et al, 1997;Wrisberg & Martin, 1994). Martin and colleagues (2002) used both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to develop the Sport Psychology Attitudes -Revised (SPA-R) form.…”