Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
4-8-2020
Year of Publication
2020
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Education
Department/School/Program
Kinesiology and Health Promotion
First Advisor
Dr. Marc Cormier
Abstract
Several athletes have taken personal responsibility to engage in activism, often with hopes of bringing social and political change. While scholars have identified several barriers preventing athletes from engaging in activism (e.g., public criticism, status and job loss, withdrawal of funding, anticipated distress; Cunningham & Regan, 2012), other scholars have identified personal benefits from engaging in activism (e.g., improved confidence, self-concept, belief in change, agency, life meaning; Klar & Kasser, 2009; Rabkin et al., 2019). Distress from the barriers, however, may be prerequisites to enhancing resilience, a theoretical construct that may help explain the benefits of activism. Thus, by applying the metatheory of resilience and resiliency, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between athletic identity (AI), activist identity and commitment (AIC), perceived stress (PS), stress control mindset (SCM), and mental toughness (MT). Overall, the 204 NCAA student-athletes surveyed in the present study reported low AIC, potentially resulting in the lack of significant findings. Regression models did not find that the theorized benefits of athlete activism were related to AIC as originally thought. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.072
Recommended Citation
Scheadler, Travis Robert, "Is Athlete Activism a Predictor of Resilience?" (2020). Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion. 71.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/khp_etds/71
