Meaning in life of elite athletes: A person-oriented study.

People's subjective sense of meaning in life is a flourishing research topic in psychology but remains underexplored in sport psychology. This study uses a person-oriented method to shed light on meaning in the lives of elite athletes (i.e., latent profile analysis) to identify distinct profiles of sources of meaning in life, and compare the extent to which these profiles differ in relation to athletic identity, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. A sample of 593 Swiss elite athletes (50.4% women, 49.6% men; Mage = 24.78 years, SD = 4.93) participated in the study. The Meaning and Purpose Scales (MAPS) were used to assess athletes' perceptions of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and sources of meaning. Athletes demonstrated higher overall meaningfulness, lower crisis of meaning, and prioritized different sources of meaning compared to the general population. Latent profile analysis revealed three distinct meaning profiles: (1) athletes with multiple meanings (n = 351), (2) athletes with low meaning (n = 126), and (3) faith-based athletes (n = 110). Notably, the athletes in the first and last profile exhibited higher life satisfaction and self-esteem. The identified profiles demonstrate that athletes differ both in the degree and the types of meaning in life. The findings align with studies outside of sport that suggest that meaning in life, in addition to being an end-value in itself, is also related to enhanced life satisfaction and self-esteem. Personalized meaning-focused interventions can be valuable for applied practice with elite athletes.

Searching for meaning and purpose in elite sport: A narrative review of sport psychology literature with theoretical insights from psychology.

Athletes' stories about their experiences in elite sport inevitably evoke the notion of meaning, a concept, which has appeared in many shapes and forms within sport psychology. Qualitative scholarship, for example, has generated a large literature base on the meaning of experience (i.e., implicit meaning) in elite sport. However, the experience of meaning(fulness) (i.e., existential meaning) has received less scholarly attention and has rarely been the explicit study object. To assist theorizing and the empirical investigation of meaning and purpose in elite sport in these early stages, we take stock of the emerging body of literature in sport psychology. The article has three parts: Firstly, we distinguish between implicit and existential meaning to delineate our study object. Secondly, we introduce psychological theory to show how existential meaning can be conceptualized (e.g., dimensions, sources, crisis of meaning). Thirdly, we analyzed 23 studies in a narrative review approach to understand how meaning (n = 17) and purpose (n = 6) in elite sport have been understood, and what we know about these concepts empirically. The current scholarship revealed itself heterogenous in terms of study designs, methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and conceptualizations of meaning and purpose. Findings are discussed in eight overarching themes (e.g., moments when meaning and purpose are questioned; as mechanism and indicator of growth following adversity) to map the reviewed literature comprehensibly and to provide a foundation for applied work. The article concludes by highlighting unresolved issues and proposing future directions for studying and applying existential meaning in elite sport.

Closing a chapter? A protocol for a longitudinal mixed methods study on retirement from elite sport.

Retirement from elite sport represents a major life transition for athletes and requires them to redefine their central life projects, identities, and perhaps even sources of meaning in life. Although an extensive body of literature has identified risk and protective factors in career termination, little is known about the more subjective processes and individual pathways of athletes as they establish their new relationship with work-life and sport. The planned longitudinal mixed methods study follows Swiss elite athletes' transition with a focus on understanding (1) the relationship between psychological resources, life situations at the end of the sports career, and the retirement process; (2) how athletes' post-retirement vocational careers interact with their subjective careers and sense of meaningful work; (3) how athletes reconstruct their identities and relationship with sport over time; and (4) how gender shapes athletes' pathways and reorientation of their life design.Using a person-oriented approach combined with narrative inquiry, we expect to identify specific types and stories which demonstrate individual differences in career and personal development throughout the transitional period, an understanding of which can be targeted towards support programmes for retiring elite athletes. As the study centralises dimensions of positive psychological functioning (meaning and purpose in life/sport/work, resilience, life satisfaction), it complements previous studies focused on psychological distress and provides much needed knowledge that can be used to foster well-being in athletic retirement. Collaborating with the Swiss Olympic Association helps to ensure that the research findings will be disseminated to relevant end-users and used towards developing socially sustainable elite sport for the future generations.

Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated governmental restrictions suddenly changed everyday life and potentially affected exercise behavior. The aim of this study was to explore whether individuals changed their preference for certain types of physical exercise during the pandemic and to identify risk factors for inactivity. An international online survey with 13,881 adult participants from 18 countries/regions was conducted during the initial COVID-19 related lockdown (between April and May 2020). Data on types of exercise performed during and before the initial COVID-19 lockdown were collected, translated, and categorized (free-text input). Sankey charts were used to investigate these changes, and a mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to analyze risks for inactivity. Many participants managed to continue exercising but switched from playing games (e.g., football, tennis) to running, for example. In our sample, the most popular exercise types during the initial COVID-19 lockdown included endurance, muscular strength, and multimodal exercise. Regarding risk factors, higher education, living in rural areas, and physical activity before the COVID-19 lockdown reduced the risk for inactivity during the lockdown. In this relatively active multinational sample of adults, most participants were able to continue their preferred type of exercise despite restrictions, or changed to endurance type activities. Very few became physically inactive. It seems people can adapt quickly and that the constraints imposed by social distancing may even turn into an opportunity to start exercising for some. These findings may be helpful to identify individuals at risk and optimize interventions following a major context change that can disrupt the exercise routine.

Continuity and Discontinuity of Sport and Exercise Type During the COVID-19 Pandemic. An Exploratory Study of Effects on Mood.

Involvement in sport and exercise not only provides participants with health benefits but can be an important aspect of living a meaningful life. The COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary cessation of public life in March/April/May 2020 came with restrictions, which probably also made it difficult, if not impossible, to participate in certain types of sport or exercise. Following the philosophical position that different types of sport and exercise offer different ways of "relating to the world," this study explored (dis)continuity in the type of sport and exercise people practiced during the pandemic-related lockdown, and possible effects on mood. Data from a survey of 601 adult exercisers, collected shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak in Finland, were analyzed. Approximately one third (35%) of the participants changed their "worldmaking" and shifted to "I-Nature"-type activities. We observed worse mood during the pandemic in those who shifted from "I-Me," compared to those who had preferred the "I-Nature" relation already before the pandemic and thus experienced continuity. The clouded mood of those experiencing discontinuity may be the result of a temporary loss of "feeling at home" in their new exercise life-world. However, further empirical investigation must follow, because the observed effect sizes were small.

Coaches' reflections on the meaning and value of Masters athletics.

Masters sport is a growing social movement offering the opportunity to participate in competitive sports in later life. Although many studies have explored Masters athletes' experiences, little is known about how other actors in the sport subcultures construct meaning in Masters sport and whether their stories work to support or hinder participation. Our study explored the cultural narrative resources and life scripts surrounding sport and ageing that coaches draw upon in two European countries, England and Finland, where sport policy has put different emphasis on elite sport and sport for all. We analysed interviews from 23 athletics (track and field) coaches (8 women) to understand how they assign meaning and value to Masters sport. The narrative analysis showed that coaches constructed two possible athlete pathways: the elite athlete pathway, followed by disengagement from competitive sport, and the 'second chance' pathway, describing Masters athletics as an option for those who did not succeed in youth. Normative expectations about the life career in athletics, involving a transition from an athlete to a coach and volunteer, also worked to construct participation in Masters athletics as a selfish activity and neglect to 'give back' to the sport. Finnish coaches constructed more nuanced stories about Masters athletics and sport in later life, tapping into sport for all narrative resources that circulate in the Nordic countries. The findings indicate that athletics subculture is a contested space where 'new' discourses of ageing are only slowly starting to challenge the normative life script of sport as a project of youth.

Is hockey just a game? Contesting meanings of the ice hockey life projects through a career-threatening injury.

This study is situated within an existential-narrative theoretical framework to examine the impact of career-threatening injury on professional ice hockey players' well-being and career construction. Professional ice hockey culture is construed as a privileged space characterised by hegemonic masculinity, fierce competition as well as high-risk behaviours often resulting in sports injuries. In this paper, we analyse two players' life stories with a particular focus on injury as a boundary situation involving social and temporal breakdown and re-evaluation of meaning of sporting life projects. Emergent narratives surrounding existential themes of loss of meaning and loneliness in the face of injury were analysed in connection with players' search for authenticity and realignment with self-concept. Each player developed resistant narratives to the dominant ethos of professional sport in order to restore well-being and sense of self. The relational aspects of injury are highlighted in practical recommendations.

The Work of Cultural Transition: An Emerging Model.

In today's uncertain, fluid job market, transnational mobility has intensified. Though the concept of cultural transition is increasingly used in sport and career research, insight into the processes of how individuals produce their own development through work and relationships in shifting cultural patterns of meaning remains limited. The transnational industry of sports, in which athletes' psychological adjustment to cultural transitions has implications for both performance and meaningful life, serves as a backdrop for this article. This study applied the life story method to interviews with 15 professional and semi-professional athletes, focusing particularly on the cultural transition aspect of their transnational athletic careers. The aims of the study were to identify the developmental tasks of cultural transitions and strategies/mechanisms through which cultural transitions were enacted. Three underlying mechanisms of the transition process that assisted athletic career adaptability were social repositioning, negotiation of cultural practices, and meaning reconstruction. Based on the data analyses, a temporal model of cultural transition is proposed. The results of this research provide professionals working in the fields of career counseling and migrant support with a content framework for enhancing migrant workers' adaptabilities and psychological wellbeing.

'The engine just started coughing!' - Limits of physical performance, aging and career continuity in elite endurance sports.

This research examines male endurance athletes' experience of aging and/or reaching the perceived limits of physical performance. More specifically, the current study aimed to explore how existential meanings attached to these experiences are connected with athletes' decision-making concerning career continuity and retirement. Life story interviews were conducted with 10 Finnish runners and/or orienteers aged between 25 and 62 and the data was analyzed with an existential-narrative framework. Four major storylines related to aging were identified: The end of an era, putting things in perspective, the attitude has to change and winning was never the only motive. Our results suggest that endurance athletes possess diverse ways of bringing meaning to the experience of aging, both confirming and resisting the dominant cultural narrative of decline. While three athletes' stories confirmed the normativity of retirement when unable to improve their results anymore, other athletes demonstrated career continuity and positive aspects in the late career years, such as lack of competitive anxiety, finding perspective and increased enjoyment in running. We suggest that through awareness of alternative narratives, sport psychology consultants may be able to help their clients to explore new meanings in the potentially challenging and beneficial experiences of aging and athletic retirement.