A Qualitative Exploration of Collegiate Student-Athletes’ Constructions of Health

Authors

  • Bradley Crocker McGill University
  • Lindsay R Duncan, Dr. McGill University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v13i1.11731

Keywords:

Student-athlete, health, sport, student health, Constructions of health

Abstract

Collegiate student athletes are faced with unique challenges as they are often forced to negotiate between demanding social, athletic, and academic roles. These competing priorities can put student athletes at greater risk for experiencing physical and psychological health problems than their non-athlete peers. To better understand the underlying behaviours and lifestyle factors leading to these negative outcomes, we must consider how they think about health. The purpose of this study was to examine how student athletes conceptualize health in the Canadian context, and to examine how they formulate these understandings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 actively-competing collegiate student athletes from nine varsity sports at two academic institutions, and data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants constructed health holistically, with particular emphasis on physical and mental domains over social well-being. The quality of one’s physical health was equated in many ways with athletic capacity, as was the quality of mental health to a lesser degree. Participants discussed a variety of sources from which they drew health ideas, but sport experiences were commonly cited as particularly significant and formative. Findings can inform future research into health conceptualizations of other university student populations, and may inform further inquiry into how health ideas manifest into behaviour. Recommendations are provided for collegiate sport administrators including placing heavier emphasis on mental health resources, and improving support while athletes are acclimating to the demanding lifestyle of varsity sport.   

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1991). Backboards and blackboards: College athletes and role engulfment. New York: Columbia University Press.
Backett, K., Davison, C., & Mullen, K. (1994). Lay evaluation of health and healthy lifestyles: Evidence from three studies. British Journal of General Practice, 44, 277-280.
Barry, A., Howell, S., Riplinger, A., & Piazza-Gardner, A. (2015). Alcohol use among college athletes: Do intercollegiate, club, or intramural student athletes drink differently? Substance Use & Misuse, 50(3), 302–307. http://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2014.977398
Bennett, E. V., Scarlett, L., Clarke, L. H., & Crocker, P. R. (2017). Negotiating (athletic) femininity: The body and identity in elite female basketball players. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 9(2), 233-246. http://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2016.1246470
Bents, R., Tokish, J. & Goldberg, L. (2004). Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and amphetamine prevalence in college hockey players: Most report performance-enhancing drug use. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 32(9), 30–34. http://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2004.11440733
Blacker, M., Sullivan, P., & Cairney, J. (2017). Levels of mental distress in a national sample of Canadian university student athletes. Proceedings of the SCAPPS 2017 Annual Conference, 49(1), 69.
Bridel, W. (2013). Not fat, not skinny, functional enough to finish: Interrogating constructions of health in the Ironman Triathlon, Leisure/Loisir, 37(1), 37-56. http://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2013.776745
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.
Courtenay, W. H. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science & Medicine, 50(10), 1385-1401. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00390-1
Crawford, R. (2006). Health as a meaningful social practice. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 10(4), 401-420. http://doi.org/10.1177/1363459306067310
Crocker, B., & Bridel, W. (2019). “When you think about someone who’s healthy, you think about someone who’s like an athlete”: Constructions of health in male collegiate varsity swimmers. Manuscript currently under revision.
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Curry, T. J. (1993). A little pain never hurt anyone: Athletic career socialization and the normalization of sports injury. Symbolic Interaction, 16(3), 273-290. http://doi.org/10.1525/si.1993.16.3.273
Davis, P., & Drew, K. (1999). Health and society in Aoetearoa New Zealand. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
Diamond, A., Callahan, S., Chain, K. & Solomon, G. (2016). Qualitative review of hazing in collegiate and school sports: Consequences from a lack of culture, knowledge and responsiveness. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50, 149-153. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095603
Dubuc-Charbonneau, N., Durand-Bush, N., & Forneris, T. (2014). Exploring levels of student-athlete burnout at two Canadian universities. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44(2), 135-151.
Eitzen, S. (1987). The educational experiences of intercollegiate student-athletes. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 11(2), 15-30. http://doi.org/10.1177/019372358701100102
Engebretson, J. (2003). Cultural constructions of health and illness: Recent cultural changes toward a holistic approach. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 21(3), 203-227. http://doi.org/10.1177/0898010103254914
Etzel, E. (2006). Understanding and promoting college student-athlete health: Essential issues for student affairs professionals. NASPA Journal, 43(3), 518-546.
Freeman, M. (2008). Hermeneutics. In L. M. Given, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Methods (pp. 385-388). Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore: Sage.
Gille, F., Smith, S., & Mays, N. (2014). Why public trust in health care systems matters and deserves greater research attention. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 20(1), 62-64. http://doi.org/10.1177/1355819614543161
Greenleaf, C., Petrie, T., Carter, J. & Reel, J. (2009). Female collegiate athletes: Prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors. Journal of American College Health, 57(5), 489-496. http://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.57.5.489-496
Grossbard, J., Geisner, I., Mastroleo, N., Kilmer, J., Turrisi, R., & Larimer, M. (2009). Athletic identity, descriptive norms, and drinking among athletes transitioning to college. Addictive Behaviors. 34, 352-359. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.11.011
Herzlich, C., & Pierret, J. (1985). The social construction of the patient: Patients and illnesses in other ages. Social Science & Medicine, 20(2), 145-151. http://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(85)90299-0
Hinkle, S., Smith, S. L., & Stellino, M. B. (2007). Cognitive dissonance in athletic hazing: The roles of commitment and athletic identity. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 29, S169-S170.
Huber, M., Knottnerus, J., Green, L., Van der Horst, H., Jadad, A., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Lorig, K., Loureiro, M., Van Der Meet, J., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., Van Weel, C. & Smid, H. (2011). How should we define health? BMJ, 343-345. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163
Hughes, R., & Coakley, J. (1991). Positive deviance among athletes: The implications of overconformity to the sport ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 307-325. http://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.8.4.307
Institute of Medicine (2004). Health literacy: A prescription to end confusion. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.
Jolly, J. C. (2007). Raising the question #9: Is the student-athlete population unique? And why should we care? Communication Education, 57(1), 145-151. http://doi.org/10.1080/03634520701613676
Lau, R., Quadrel, M. & Hartman, K. (1990). Development and change of young adults preventive health beliefs and behavior: Influence from parents and peers. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 31, 240–259. http://doi.org/10.2307/2136890
Levine, J., Etchison, S. & Oppenheimer, D. (2014). Pluralistic ignorance among student-athlete populations: a factor in academic underperformance. Higher Education, 68(4), 525-540. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9726-0
Lyons, A. C., & Chamberlain, K. (2006). Thinking about health and the body. In Lyons, A. C., & Chamberlain, K. (Eds.), Health Psychology: A Critical Introduction (40-69). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mah, C. D., Kerizirian, E. J., Marcello, B. M., & Dement, W. C. (2018). Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep of a collegiate student-athlete population. Sleep Health, 4(3), 251-257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2018.02.005
Makoul, G., Clayman, M. L., Lynch, E. B., & Thompson, J. A. (2009). Four concepts of health in America: Results of national surveys. Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, 14(1), 3-14. http://doi.org/10.1080/10810730802592213
Margolis, G. (1981). Moving away: Perspectives on counseling anxious freshmen. Adolescence, 16, 633-640.
Martens, M. P., Dams-O’Connor, K., & Beck, N. C. (2006). A systematic review of college student-athlete drinking: Prevalence rates, sport-related factors, and interventions. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 31(3), 305-316. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2006.05.004
Martin, B. E., Harrison, C. K., Stone, J., & Lawrence, S. M. (2010). Athletic voices and academic victories: African American male student-athlete experiences in the Pac-Ten. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 34(2), 131-153. http://doi.org/10.1177/0193723510366541
McCray, K. (2015). Intercollegiate athletes and sexual violence: A review of literature and recommendations for future study. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 16(4), 438–443. http://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014537907
Michaelson, V., McKerron, M., & Davison, C. (2015). Forming ideas about health: A qualitative study of Ontario adolescents. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 10(1), 27506. http://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v10.27506
Miller, P. S., & Kerr, G. (2002). The athletic, academic, and social experiences of intercollegiate student athletes. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 25, 346-368.
Prior, L. (2003). Belief, knowledge and expertise: The emergence of the lay expert in medical sociology. Sociology of Health & Illness, 25, 41-57. http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.00339
Potuto, J., & O’Hanlon, J. (2007). National study of student-athletes regarding their experiences as college students. College Student Journal, 41(4), 947-966.
Riciputi, S., & Erdal, K. (2017). The effect of stereotype threat on student-athlete math performance. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 32, 54-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.06.003
Robertson, S. (2003). ‘If I let a goal in, I’ll get beat up’: Contradictions in masculinity, sport and health. Health Education Research, 18(6), 706-716. http://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyf054
Rothschild-Checroune, E., Gravelle, F., Dawson, D. & Karlis, G. (2012). Balancing academic and athletic time management: A qualitative exploration of first year student athletes’ university football experiences. Society and Leisure, 35(2), 243-261. http://doi.org/10.1080/07053436.2012.10707843
Saxe, K., Hardin, R., Taylor, E. A., & Pate, J. R. (2017). Transition blues: The experience of female collegiate student-athletes. Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation, 1(2), 25-48. http://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5267.2017.1.2.25-48
Sevinc, S., & Gizir, C. A. (2014). Factors negatively affecting university adjustment from the views of first-year university students: The case of Mersin University. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 14(4), 1301-1308.
Sharf, B. F., & Vanderford, M. L. (2008). Illness narratives and the social construction of health. In T. L. Thompson, A. Dorsey, K. I. Miller, & R. Parrot (Eds.), Handbook of Health Communication (pp. 9-34). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. London: SAGE.
Smith, J. A. (2007). Addressing men’s health policy concerns in Australia: What can be done? Australia and New Zealand Health Policy, 4(20). http://doi.org/10.1186/1743-8462-4-20
Sparkes, A. C., & Smith, B. (2014). Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise and health. New York: Routledge.
Sundgot-Borgen, J. & Torstveit, M. (2004). Prevalence of eating disorders in elite athletes is higher than in the general population. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 14(1), 25-32.
Tarlov, A. R. (1992). The coming influence of a social sciences perspective on medical education. Academic Medicine, 67(11), 724-731. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199211000-00003
The World Bank. (2007). World development report: Development and the next generation, Washington, DC.
Theberge, N. (2008). “Just a normal bad part of what I do”: Elite athletes’ accounts of the relationship between health and sport, Sociology of Sport Journal, 25(2), 206-222. http://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.25.2.206
Tracey, J., & Corlett, J. (1995). The transition experience of first-year university track and field student athletes. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 2(22), 81-102
Vertinsky, P. (2009). Mind the gap (or mending it): Qualitative research and interdisciplinarity in kinesiology. Quest, 61(1), 39-51. http://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2009.10483599
Waddington, I. (2004). Sport, health, and public policy. In K. Young (Ed.), Sporting bodies, damaged selves: Sociological studies in sports-related injury. London: Elsevier.
Watson, J. (2000). Male bodies: Health, culture and identity. England: Open University Press
Watson, J. (2005). College student-athletes’ attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour and expectations of counseling services. Journal of College Student Development, 46, 442-449. http://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2005.0044
Weigand, S., Cohen, J. & Merenstein, D. (2013). Susceptibility for depression in current and retired student athletes. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 5(3), 263-266. http://doi.org/10.1177/1941738113480464
White, P. G., McTeer, W. G., & Curtis, J. E. (2013). Academic attainment and Canadian intercollegiate athletics: Temporal shifts. Journal for the Study of Sports and Sthletes in Education, 7(3), 168-189. http://doi.org/10.1179/1935739713Z.00000000011
Wilson, G., & Pritchard, M. (2005). Comparing sources of stress in student athletes and non-athletes. Athletic Insight: The Online Journal of Sport Psychology, 7(1), 1-8.
World Health Organization. WHO definition of health, Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization adopted by International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; entered into force on 7 April 1948. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 80(12), 982.
Wright, J., O’Flynn, G., & Macdonald, D. (2006). Being fit and looking healthy: Young women’s and men’s constructions of health and fitness. Sex Roles, 54, 707-716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9036-9
Yang, J., Peek-Asa, C., Corlette, J., Cheng, G., Foster, D. & Albright, J. (2007). Prevalence of and risk factors associated with symptoms of depression in competitive collegiate student athletes. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 17(6), 481-487.
Young, K., McTeer, W., & White, P. (1994). Body talk: Male athletes reflect on sport, injury, and pain. Sociology of Sport Journal, 11(2), 175-194. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.11.2.175

Downloads

Published

2020-09-08

How to Cite

Crocker, B., & Duncan, L. R. (2020). A Qualitative Exploration of Collegiate Student-Athletes’ Constructions of Health. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 13(1), 24-47. https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v13i1.11731