Is there a basis for the notion of athletic identity?

Abstract

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.