"I'm more than my sport": Exploring the dynamic processes of identity change in athletic retirement.

Retirement is one of the most impactful career transitions athletes face. Researchers recognise the role that athletic identity plays in this, but analysis of identity content and change processes is limited. Addressing this gap, we conducted a qualitative study exploring the experience of identity change in 21 competitive and successful elite athletes who had retired from sport. All participated in a one-session psychoeducational program that explored the challenges of transitioning out of sport before being interviewed about their understanding of identity in sport, and their experiences negotiating identity loss and change in retirement. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified three themes: (i) the role of identity and self-categorizations in shaping sport performance, (ii) adjusting to identity loss (with subthemes indicating that this experience varied depending on the extent to which a person had multiple or exclusive identities), and (iii) attempts to remoor identity in the transition (with subthemes of searching for a new identity and actively repurposing identity). We interpret these themes through the lens of the Social Identity Model of Identity Change and show that this provides a framework for extending our understanding the complexities of identity change associated with retirement from elite sport.

A latent profile analysis of the nature of social group memberships and their contribution to retirement outcomes.

Positive experiences of groups (e.g., the extent to which groups are important and supportive) tend to be associated with better retirement adjustment outcomes. However, group experiences are not always positive, and we know little about their varied contribution to adjustment outcomes. We addressed this gap by exploring the nature of social group memberships - in terms of varying positive and negative experiences of groups - to better understand how social group memberships shape retirement adjustment, life satisfaction and mental health. A latent profile analysis (using data from 489 retirees and their membership of 1887 groups) identified four profiles of social group memberships: optimal (63%), slightly straining (13%), low-supportive (18%) and ambivalent (6%). Subsequent regression analysis showed that these different profiles of group membership were differentially associated with retirement adjustment outcomes: belonging to more optimal groups was associated with better perceived adjustment, higher life satisfaction and better mental health, while belonging to slightly straining and ambivalent groups contributed to poorer adjustment, lower life satisfaction and greater depression. These findings have implications for theory and practice, not least because they advance our understanding of the diversity of people's group memberships and their contribution to retirement and health outcomes.

A longitudinal examination of the role of social identity in supporting health and well-being in retirement.

Social factors are major determinants of the success of retirement transitions. However, we do not yet fully understand the nature and basis of this impact, particularly as it relates to social group belonging. To address this issue the present article investigated the role that social group memberships play in supporting people's health and well-being in the early phase of transitioning to retirement. More specifically, we drew on the social identity model of identity change (SIMIC) to examine two pathways in which social group processes are theorized to influence adjustment to life change-social identity continuity and social identity gain. To test these pathways, a sample of Australian workers who had transitioned to retirement in the last 12 months (N = 170) were surveyed about their (a) preretirement multiple group memberships and postretirement maintained and new group memberships and (b) their perceived physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction after retirement. While preretirement group memberships did not affect retirement outcomes directly, they supported them indirectly by enabling people both to maintain some existing group memberships and to gain some new group memberships postretirement; as predicted by SIMIC. These findings confirm the importance of social factors and of social group membership in particular, for retiree health and well-being. Theoretically, they support the generalizability of SIMIC and its capacity to explain adjustment to diverse life changes including retirement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

GROUPS 2 CONNECT: An online activity to maintain social connection and well-being during COVID-19.

COVID-19 has had significant negative consequences for well-being. As well as the primary effects of the virus itself, secondary effects have resulted from the social isolation caused by the lockdowns imposed to slow the spread of the virus. Recognising the toxic effects of isolation, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers are conscious of the need to mitigate the negative effects of social distancing. Drawing on insights from a large body of research on the Social Identity Approach to Health, we devised an online activity-GROUPS 2 CONNECT (G2C)-aimed at helping people to maintain social connectedness when face-to-face interaction was not possible. Across four studies (N = 1021), we found that after completing the G2C activity, participants reported an increase in perceived quality of social connection, perceived ability to stay connected and well-being, with results showing that for two of the three longitudinal studies these uplifts were stable over time, and for all studies, the uplifts remained consistently higher for those who reported completing their social connection goals. These findings provide initial evidence of the value of G2C as a tool to support social connection, thereby reducing the risk of social isolation.