Student-athletes identity and motivation towards dual career: the context matters

Abstract

We hypothesized that student-athletes’ athletic identity and motivation are influenced by their own institutions sport policies. The aim of the study is twofold: a) to validate a measure of athletic identity among Portuguese college students; b) to analyze the effects of 3 different types of college policies on identity and motivation. This study used a quantitative design. 201 Portuguese student-athletes answered to two questionnaires, BIMS (Baller Identity Measurement Scale) and SAMSAQ (Student Athletes Motivation towards Sports and Academics Questionnaire). To comparative purposes, three types of university were considered according to their institutions’ sport policies: type 1 (i.e sport organized exclusively by higher education institutes (HEIs)), type 2 (i.e organized by HEIs and/or student associations) and type 3 (i.e organized outside the HEIs). The CFA showed the adjustment of the model of BIMS with two factors for Portuguese student-athlete (emotions and exclusivity) (CFI: 0.918, RMSEA: 0.123) and the SAMSAQ with three factors (academic motivation, motivation to be a studentathlete, motivation for a sports career) (CFI: 0.933, RMSEA: 0.106). This was the first time that these instruments were combined to analyze the Portuguese reality. The findings show that the micro and meso environment of the university seems to shape the perceptions and feelings of the students about their participation in sport. An important practical implication is that the higher expression of satisfaction came from universities where the students had a stronger implication in the activities´ organization and management. For policy makers this is a significant contribution for decision making about dual career.