As we all welcomed a new year, those of us at JSSAE welcome a new and exciting change in publishers. We would like to publically thank the good people at Left Coast Press for giving us our start. Without their guidance and support JSSAE may never have come to fruition. To our new publisher, Maney Publishing, thank you for seeing in us what Mitch Allen was able to see. We look forward to a lasting relationship and JSSAE growing even more than it has in the past.
What does this change mean for you as readers and potential authors? For you, the reader, it means we will continue to bring you the highest quality academic research in our field. It also means you will begin to notice topics that have a much broader and international appeal. For authors, it means a more streamlined approach when submitting manuscripts and more visibility in the international community of scholars.
Over the years we have earned the reputation of being a high quality journal that offers a personal touch when communicating with current and potential authors. Please be assured that will not go away. Just because we have grown does not mean we have lost sight of the service we provide. The attention to each manuscript we provide is important to us and will continue during this period of growth. Thank you all for your continued support of the work we do.
That being said we have an exciting issue for you to read that contains some of the latest and cutting edge research in our field. There is some research that suggests disabled individuals have lower self-esteem than the able-bodied population. Persons with disabilities who engage in sporting activities have a more favorable view of their body. However, does the research and rhetoric tell the entire story? In fact, have we delved deeply into the exploration of abilities and sporting? In the article, Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Student-Athletes: An Examination of Image and Self-Esteem, Mark Vermillion examines the differences in type of disability and gender regarding body image and self-esteem of disabled athletes. More specifically, he focuses attention on the impact of wheelchair basketball on education-related variables. Results suggest some significant differences between self-esteem and body image depending on not only gender type, but type of disability.
According to the author, disabled student-athletes choosing to participate in sport involves a multi-layered, social-psychological process. He found that sport participation, in fact, was related to managing impressions and understanding how sport impacts self-esteem, body image, and social interactions. The author notes that subconsciously an individual’s ‘body’ can be constructed as admirable or desirable and is important for analyzing how individuals choose to display it in social situations. This is critical when trying to explain how disabled persons participate in sport and also for helping to understand the relationship among (disabled) athletes, the able-bodied community, self-esteem, and body image. Some results include differences in self-esteem between student-athletes with congenital disabilities and those with acquired disabilities. Specifically, the self-esteem differences show that athletes with acquired disabilities had higher self-esteem (26·08 vs. 24·87) compared to athletes with congenital disabilities. The author suggests that congenital disorders may also affect the body differently (and for much longer). This implies that their identities have been heavily influenced by the disability for their entire lives. Sport participation, as a result, is a traditional mechanism to demonstrate that these bodies, which may or may not conform to traditional expectations of social bodies, can still engage in physical, skilled, and competitive activities/sports, thus providing the individual with a sense of ‘normalcy.’
Despite the uniqueness of the student-athlete population and the increasingly large financial commitment schools are making to their athletic programs, few studies have focused on the retention of student-athletes. We know that students who participate in varsity athletics are more likely to persist in higher education. However, what seems to remain unclear are the factors associated with athletics participation that influence persistence or retention. While researchers such as Rivera (2004) found that the coach-player-teammate relationship played a significant role in student-athlete retention, the literature is scant regarding the factors influencing student-athlete retention and the role of environmental factors such as relationships with coaches and teammates. In the paper, Psychological Contracts and Student-Athlete Retention, authors, Christopher R. Barnhill, W. Andrew Czekanski, and Brian A. Turner discuss the importance of psychological contract theory as a possible avenue for exploring the importance of those relationships. While we spend a lot of time discussing traditional paper contracts, we spend little time exploring the importance of the psychological contract. Given that it is essentially a bond between an individual and an organization based on the perception of an exchange relationship, this contract may be significant in athletic settings. According to the authors, psychological contracts fill in gaps that a traditional contract cannot address (Anderson & Schalk, 1998; Shore & Tetrick, 1994). Importantly in a sport team setting, a relational contract may be formed or altered through a variety of interactions between coaches, teammates, and student-athletes. Verbal cues, informal electronic communications such as text messages or facebook postings, and even physical gestures such as a nod or a pat on the back may contribute to a relational psychological contract if the student-athlete attributes a meaning or an expectation to the communication. The results of this study reveal that coaches and student-athletes do form psychological contracts related to training obligations. In addition, breaches of psychological contracts related to training obligations were found to have significantly lower student-athletes’ trust in their coaches and affective commitment to their teams.
In the article, Student-Athlete Wellbeing and Persistence: An In-depth Look at Student-Athlete Perceptions, Sibongile D. Kamusoko and Cynthia Lee A. Pemberton note that despite NCAA legislative measures and requirements, student-athletes still confront conflicting roles associated with education and athletics. Accordingly, they state that intercollegiate athletic departments need to better prepare and support student-athletes as they transition to collegiate life by providing academic support, eligibility compliance information, and working to ensure that student-athletes interact with peers and faculty external to athletics. In fact, they note that the success of an intercollegiate athletic program depends on combined efforts of the institutional community.
The authors explored student-athlete perceptions of wellbeing, and identified differences in wellbeing perceptions and persistence intentions based on student-athlete demographics (i.e., student-status, gender, and sport played). This proved to be particularly important, specifically as it relates to informing administrators and staff who work with student athletes. For instance, the authors suggest that relative to wellbeing, students are concerned about inadequate advisor access. Interviewees also acknowledged the need to be more responsible in terms of their own academic progress.
Similar to themes in other writings in this issue, the focus of the final piece is on the psychology of sporting and athleticism. In Implementing a Sportsmanship Program: Clemson University’s ‘Solid Orange: It’s About Pride’ Suzanne M. Dodd, describes and critically examines the marketing and public relations strategies undertaken by Clemson University to promote sportsmanship to spectators, players, coaches, administrators, and fans. Taking a case study methodological approach, she describes how Solid Orange was created to instill pride, integrity, and ethical conduct throughout the university and community at large.
While she doesn’t address psychology specifically, the psychological framework certainly undergirds her study. As early as 2002, the Clemson Athletic Director undertook a plan to construct a model athletics program for the 21st century. According to Weissenburger, this meant improving quality on every front. She notes that the school ‘marketed’ pride, school spirit, and athletics through postings in locker rooms, study areas, and athletic facilities. The university worked diligently to send a positive message about sportsmanship, promoted unity and spirit, and reinvigorated pride and tradition. Initially, the concept was also targeted to student-athletes, coaches, and athletic staff through educational seminars. Later the program was extended to community, faculty, staff, and students. This far reaching approach was successful. For instance, in 2004 and 2005, the men’s basketball team won the ACC Sportsmanship Award. In 2006, Clemson won the NCAA’s first Exemplary Sportsmanship Recognition Award, one of only five institutions to be recognized. In 2007, the Institute for International Sport named Clemson an All-American Sportsmanship School. In 2007 and 2008, Clemson rowing received the ACC’s Spring Sportsmanship Award. Clemson is well positioned to serve as model for many athletic programs throughout the country.
As always, we hope that you continue to read, send in your articles, and help to inform institutions, communities, organizations, and people about athletics and those who participate in sports.
James and Robin