Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T04:59:53.228Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Some people treat you like an alien’: Understanding the female athlete experience of belonging on campus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2020

Christopher D. Slaten Open the ORCID record for Christopher D. Slaten [Opens in a new window] ,
Jonathan K. Ferguson Open the ORCID record for Jonathan K. Ferguson [Opens in a new window] ,
Hayley A. Hughes  and
Dominick A. Scalise
Christopher D. Slaten*
Affiliation:
Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Jonathan K. Ferguson
Affiliation:
Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Hayley A. Hughes
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Dominick A. Scalise
Affiliation:
Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Christopher D. Slaten, Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

College athletes across north America are often known on their respective college campuses for their athleticism, and spend a considerable amount of hours weekly engaging in their respective sport through practices, meetings, travelling and meals, to name a few. It is no wonder it is difficult for these students to feel fully engaged and connected on university campuses as students. Female college athletes in particular, who often are not athletes in revenue-generating sports, often feel left behind as students and isolated as athletes. The purpose of the current study was to examine female collegiate athletes’ experience with belonging in a university setting. This qualitative inquiry utilised consensual qualitative research to explore 14 female student athletes’ experience of belonging on a university campus. The results of the data analysis yielded the following domains or themes: athletic team culture, athletic department culture, campus support and involvement, female athlete identity, and individual athlete experience. The most salient finding was that these female athletes suggested that their sense of belonging on campus was almost exclusively related to their experience as an athlete and their athletic team.

Keywords

belongingfemale athletessportcollege/university studentsqualitative research
Type
Articles
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , July 2020 , pp. 11 - 19
Copyright
© Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American College Health Association (2011). American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Fall 2010. Linthicum, MD: American College Health Association.Google Scholar
Antshel, K.M., VanderDrift, L.E., & Pauline, J.S. (2016). The role of athletic identity in the relationship between difficulty thinking or concentrating and academic service use in NCAA student-athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 10, 309–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aquilina, D., & Henry, I. (2010). Elite athletes and university education in Europe: A review of policy and practice in higher education in the European Union Member States. International Journal of Sport Policy, 2, 25–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauman, N.J. (2016). The stigma of mental health in athletes: are mental toughness and mental health seen as contradictory in elite sport? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50, 135–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumeister, R.F., & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewer, B.W., Van Raalte, J.L., & Linder, D.E. (1993). Athletic identity: Hercules’ muscles or Achilles heel?. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 237–254.Google Scholar
Brown, C., Glastetter-Fender, C., & Shelton, M. (2000). Psychosocial identity and career control in college student-athletes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 53–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, C., & Hartley, D.L. (1998). Athletic identity and career maturity of male college student athletes. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 29, 17–26.Google Scholar
Brustio, P.R., Rainoldi, A., Mosso, C.O., López de Subijana, C., & Lupo, C. (2020). Italian student-athletes only need a more effective daily schedule to support their dual career. Sport Sciences for Health, 16, 177–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, R.D., Schiller, M.R., Merrick, M.A., & Wolf, K.N. (2004). Intercollegiate student athlete use of nutritional supplements and the role of athletic trainers and dietitians in nutrition counseling. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104, 246–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, S., Snyder, S., & Magner, M. (2010). The effects of sport participation on student-athletes’ and non-athlete students’ social life and identity. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 3, 176–193.Google Scholar
Christopherson, N., Janning, M., & McConnell, E.D. (2002). Two kicks forward, one kick back: A content analysis of media discourses on the 1999 Women’s World Cup Soccer Championship. Sociology of Sport Journal, 19, 170–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Compas, B.E., Connor-Smith, J.K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A.H., & Wadsworth, M.E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daniels, E.A. (2012). Sexy versus strong: What girls and women think of female athletes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33, 79–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniels, E.A., & Wartena, H. (2011). Athlete or sex symbol: What boys think of media representations of female athletes. Sex Roles, 65, 566–579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, R. (1989). Comprehensive process analysis: Understanding the change process in significant therapy events. In Packer, M. J. & Addison, R. B. (Eds.), Entering the circle: Hermeneutic investigations in psychology (pp. 165–184. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Goodenow, C. (1993). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30, 79–90.3.0.CO;2-X>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grove, J.R., Lavallee, D., & Gordon, S. (1997). Coping with retirement from sport: The influence of athletic identity. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9, 191–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guiffrida, D.A., Lynch, M.F., Wall, A.F., & Abel, D.S. (2013). Do reasons for attending college affect academic outcomes?: A test of a motivational model from a self-determination theory perspective. Journal of College Student Development, 54, 121–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, C.E. (2012). Consensual qualitative research:  A practical resource for investigating social science phenomena. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Hill, C.E., Thompson, B.J., & Williams, E.N. (1997). A guide to conducting consensual qualitative research. The Counseling Psychologist, 25, 517–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkle, J.S. (1994). Sports counseling: Helping student athletes (ED379532). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED379532.pdfGoogle Scholar
Jones, M.I., & Lavallee, D. (2009). Exploring the life skills needs of British adolescent athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 159–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, J.M., & Denson, E.L. (1990). Student services for athletes: A model for enhancing the student-athlete experience. Journal of Counseling & Development, 69, 95–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamphoff, C., & Gill, D. (2008). Collegiate athletes’ perceptions of the coaching profession. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 3, 55–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lanning, W. (1982). The privileged few: Special counseling needs of athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology, 4, 19–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martens, M.P., & Lee, F.K. (1998). Promoting life-career development in the student athlete: How can career centers help?. Journal of Career Development, 25, 123–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslow, A.H. (1954). Personality and motivation. New York: Harper and Brothers.Google Scholar
Mean, L.J., & Kassing, J.W. (2008). ‘I would just like to be known as an athlete’: Managing hegemony, femininity, and heterosexuality in female sport. Western Journal of Communication, 72, 126–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messner, M.A. (1988). Sports and male domination: The female athlete as contested ideological terrain. Sociology of Sport Journal, 5, 197–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otis, C.L., Drinkwater, B., Johnson, M., Loucks, A., & Wilmore, J. (1997). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. The female athlete triad. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29, i–ix.Google Scholar
Pittman, L.D., & Richmond, A. (2007). Academic and psychological functioning in late adolescence: The importance of school belonging. The Journal of Experimental Education, 75, 270–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pittman, L.D., & Richmond, A. (2008). University belonging, friendship quality, and psychological adjustment during the transition to college. The Journal of Experimental Education, 76, 343–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potuto, J.J.R., & O’Hanlon, J. (2007). National study of student-athletes regarding their experiences as college students. College Student Journal, 41, 947–966.Google Scholar
Poulton, R., Caspi, A., Milne, B.J., Thomson, W.M., Taylor, A., Sears, M.R., & Moffitt, T.E. (2002). Association between children’s experience of socioeconomic disadvantage and adult health: A life-course study. The Lancet, 360, 1640–1645.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riemer, B., Beal, B., & Schoeder, P. (2000). The influence of peer and university culture on female student athletes’ perceptions of career termination, professionalism, and social isolation. Journal of Sport Behavior, 23, 364–378.Google Scholar
Sagar, S. S., Boardley, I. D., & Kavussanu, M. (2011). Fear of failure and student athletes’ interpersonal antisocial behaviour in education and sport. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 391–408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schell, L.A.B., & Rodriguez, S. (2000). Our sporting sisters: How male hegemony stratifies women in sport. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 9, 15–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slaten, C.D., & Baskin, T.W. (2014). Examining the impact of peer and family belongingness on the career decision-making difficulties of young adults: A path analytic approach. Journal of Career Assessment, 22, 59–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slaten, C.D., Elison, Z.M., Deemer, E.D., Hughes, H.A., & Shemwell, D.A. (2017). The Development and Validation of the University Belonging Questionnaire. The Journal of Experimental Education, 86, 633–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slaten, C.D., Ferguson, J.K., Allen, K.A., Brodrick, D.V., & Waters, L. (2016). School belonging: A review of the history, current trends, and future directions. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 33, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slaten, C.D., Yough, M.S., Shemwell, D.A., Scalise, D.A., Elison, Z.M., & Hughes, H.A. (2014). Eat, sleep, breathe, study: Understanding what it means to belong at a university from the student perspective. Excellence in Higher Education, 5, 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stand, P. (2007). The female athlete triad. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39, 1867–1882.Google Scholar
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
Sturts, J.R., & Ross, C.M. (2013). Collegiate intramural sports participation: Identified social outcomes. International Journal of Sport Management, Recreation & Tourism, 11, 25–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sudano, L.E., & Miles, C.M. (2017). Mental health services in NCAA Division I Athletics: A survey of head ATCs. Sport Health, 9, 262–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tinto, V. (1998). Colleges as communities: Taking research on student persistence seriously. The Review of Higher Education, 21, 167–177.Google Scholar
van Orden, K.A., Witte, T.K., James, L.M., Castro, Y., Gordon, K.H., Braithwaite, S.R., & Joiner, T.E. (2008). Suicidal ideation in college students varies across semesters: The mediating role of belongingness. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 38, 427–435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Volkwein-Caplan, K.A. (2004). Culture, sport, and physical activity. Oxford, UK: Meyer & Meyer.Google Scholar
Walseth, K. (2006). Sport and belonging. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 41, 447–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J.C., & Kissinger, D.B. (2007). Athletic participation and wellness: Implications for counseling college student-athletes. Journal of College Counseling, 10, 153–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, S.M., & Robinson, T.L. (2013). An investigation of factors relating to retention of student–athletes participating in NCAA division II athletics. Interchange, 44, 83–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolanin, A., Hong, E., Marks, D., Panchoo, K., & Gross, M. (2016). Prevalence of clinically elevated depressive symptoms in college athletes and differences by gender and sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50, 167–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yopyk, D.J., & Prentice, D.A. (2005). Am I an athlete or a student? Identity salience and stereotype threat in student–athletes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 27, 329–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar