Poor mental health outcomes in crisis transitions: an examination of retired athletes accounting of crisis transition experiences in a cultural context

ABSTRACT

Up to 20% of retiring athletes continue to experience crisis transitions, characterised by a lack of adjustment, ongoing psychological distress, depression and low self-esteem. Crisis transitions remain under researched compared with transition difficulties, especially within cultural sport psychology. This study aims to explore crisis transitions and related psychological distress within a cultural context. The media is a site of cultural exploration, thus this study examines data from the Australian media: specifically, a two-part special of a current affairs programme (120 minutes of footage) that examined the crisis transitions of nine former elite Australian athletes. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, located within a constructionist epistemology. The focus of analysis was on the broad repeated patterns of representation around experiences of and reasons for crisis transitions. Athletes depicted transitions predominately as difficult, invoking diagnostic language, including depression and substance abuse, to further constructions of transition distress. However, transition was also presented as a relief and an ongoing process, using varying constructions of choice in order to produce different versions of retirement. A range of themes were identified in accounting for these experiences during crisis transitions: sport was constructed as an addiction, inactivity partly related to lack of activities and self-worth was invoked, as well as constructions of abandonment by sporting organisations. The findings contribute to the cultural praxis of transitions and crisis transition literature by extending understanding around these experiences and resultant poor athlete mental health. Implications for career assistance programs and supporting retiring athletes are outlined.

KEYWORDS:

• Retirement
• psychological distress
• transition difficulties
• career assistance programs
• career transitions
• cultural sport psychology
• media analysis
• mental wellbeing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

S. M. Cosh

S. M. Cosh is a clinical psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of New England. Her work focuses on athlete mental health and wellbeing, especially in relation to career transitions and athlete identity.

D. G. McNeil

D. G. McNeil is  a Lecturer in Psychology at Deakin University. He has a broad research interest in sport and exercise psychology, especially in relation to identity and performance outcomes.

P. J. Tully

P. J. Tully is clinical psychologist and Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide. He holds a Translating Research into Practice Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council and is a Knowledge Translation Fellow with New South Wales Health.  His research focuses primarily on mental health including depression, anxiety and dementia, espeically in chronic disease.