Is there a basis for the notion of athletic identity?

Is there a basis for the notion of athletic identity?

Just as identity is a complex multidimensional construct, so 'athletic identity' is likely to consist of a constellation of attributes. The present study explored relations between athletic identity, as measured by the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS: Brewer, Raalte, & Linder, 1993) and aspects of self-concept, as measured
by the Self-Description Questionnaire III (SDQ: Marsh,
1989). The participants in the study were 917 athletes
(476 females) on sporting scholarships linked with the
Australian Institute of Sport and were therefore a group
for whom the term “athletic identity” has strong
relevance. The SDQ requires respondents to rate the
accuracy and importance of characteristics as selfdescriptors. No relationships were found between AIMS
athletic identity and accuracy scores on SDQ sporting
self-concept but there were gender-linked relationships
between athletic identity and different aspects of SDQ
academic self-concept. For the SDQ importance ratings,
significant relationships were observed between athletic
identity and sporting self-concept for both genders and
also between athletic identity and verbal self-concept for
females. We discuss what the findings mean for the
notion of athletic identity.

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