Identity gripping or identity flight? Two distinct experiences correlated with self-reported depression in retired professional ice hockey players

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of retired hockey players.

Variable	Retired players (n = 213)
	M	SD
Age	35.8	7.1
Age retired	28.6	4.1
Years retired	7.0	5.5
	N	%
Race^a
African American/Black	1	0.5
White	204	96.7
Asian	0	0
Indigenous peoples	2	0.9
Other	0	0
Missing data	6	2.8
Citizenship
Canada	124	59.3
United States	79	37.8
Other	6	2.9
Missing data	4	1.9
Marital status
Single (never married)	38	18.2
Engaged	11	5.3
Married	155	74.2
Separated	2	1.0
Divorced	3	1.4
Variable	Retired players (n = 213)
	n	%
Missing data	4	1.9
Educational attainment
Less than high school diploma	1	0.5
High school or equivalent	27	12.9
Some college, no degree	45	21.5
Associate degree (e.g., AA, AS)	13	6.2
Bachelor’s degree (e.g., BA, BS)	91	43.5
Master’s degree (e.g., MA, MS, Med)	27	12.9
Professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS)	4	1.9
Doctorate (e.g., PhD, EdD)	1	0.5
Missing data	4	1.9
Annual income (USD)
Less than $25,000	14	6.7
$25,000–$49,999	28	13.5
$50,000–$99,999	99	47.6
$100,000–$199,999	49	23.6
$200,000–$399,999	15	7.2
$400,000 or more	3	1.4
Missing data	5	2.3
Reason retired
Own choice	90	42.7
Declining skills or aging	22	10.4
Recurring injury or illness	47	22.3
Sudden injury or illness	32	15.2
Team politics	6	2.8
Variable	Retired players (n = 213)
	N	%
Other	14	6.6
Missing data	2	0.9

Note. Demographic data missing for a subset of participants who chose not to respond to specific survey items.

^a Participants allowed to select multiple entries.

Table 2. Representative verbatim participant responses.

Question	Participant themes	Participant responses
Question 1: What was the best part of the transition to retirement from professional hockey?	Having a “home base”
	Stability in living circumstances	Knowing where you were going to be for an extended period of time. Stability of being home, not having to travel.
	Connected relationships	Knowing that I could put my family first now Getting time back to spend with loved ones.
	Renewed freedom
	More time for activities	Getting to do the things that I never got to because of hockey season. Having my weekends back to do other things.
	Pursuing new goals	Finding ways to apply my athletic and teamwork skills Having an opportunity to jump to a new career.
	Building a new identity	The freedom to become [who] I desire to become apart from hockey It made me feel like I wasn't one dimensional I began to find out who I was after hockey no longer defined me.
	Ending the “grind”
	Reduced physical demands	No more having to beat the hell out of my body for pennies. No longer having to stay in peak physical condition. Had several injuries so was happy to not be in pain every day.
	Leaving hockey culture	Leaving behind the bullshit grind of minor league hockey where I was being exploited. No longer being associated with a culture which promoted sexism, racism, bullying, bigotry and oppression. The freedom. In hockey you are a robot to the organization and people who were in your shoes before […] a lot of the times they forget you are people.
Question 2: What was the most difficult part of the transition to retirement from professional hockey?	Next career preparation	Not knowing what to do with my career and finding a job. Having to go into something that I was not an expert at and basically starting from the bottom. Even with college experience and an internship, I still didn't stand a chance in the “real world” […] it's really like starting your hockey career all over again – but a business career.
	Social changes
	Social isolation	Upon retiring other than a few close friends I was completely isolated from everyone. No support from therapists either as they are too expensive. It was very challenging for me to develop the skills to meet people outside of sport.
	Missing team environment	Not having the daily feeling of significant accomplishment, comradery and common purpose. No longer hanging around teammates and for the most part best friends. Nothing beats the guys.
	Identity challenges
	Identity crisis	Hockey ends and there's nothing. You have to redefine yourself without any help or direction. Feeling like you're less of a person because you no longer play the game that defines you. People not understanding your identity is essentially undergoing a life change.
	Career regrets	Wondering why I wasted so much time playing a game I loved so much to have it end the way it did. The dream that I worked for my whole life was over. Will I be able to find something else I am as passionate about?
	Missing the lifestyle
	Rigors of normal life	Having to work a full 8-hour day with no notoriety or perks. Waking up every morning and not going to the rink for practice. Suddenly, your life is not planned for you anymore. You've been told to be here and there at a specific time or date since you've been 16 years old.
	Missing the game	Missing the daily competition with myself, teammates and opponents. Letting go of the excitement of playing in front of a crowd, the competitiveness, and working towards a goal personally and as a team.
	Prolonged injury	Dealing with post-concussion syndrome and the suddenness of an acute injury and how it thrusts you into real life. Was badly injured with TBI. Took a very long time to feel like myself.
Question 3: What do you think would help with the issues professional hockey players face when retiring?	Social support
	Support networks	A support system. A call or face-to-face meeting to see how things are going and help to provide support in career choice, self-identity and emotional challenges. More involvement from agents, unions, and teams on preparing for life after hockey.
	Alumni support	Have current and retired hockey players discuss experiences, fears, and difficulties of transitioning from a hockey player to a retired hockey player. Connecting current players with players who are 2–5 years out of the game. Setting up a mentorship program with the team [and have] alumni come speak a few times a year about what they are doing and how they transitioned.
	Mental health outreach	Unbiased and unconnected team counsellors. Former players or professionals who can be there to speak about problems, life, and transition beyond hockey. Periodic Mental and physical health check-ins offered to retired players.
	Next career support
	Industry skills and strategies	A program that outlines the many different career paths and how the tools learned in the sport of hockey are an asset. As soon as we come into the league, help us with finances, planning ahead, school, jobs, networking etc., so we are more prepared. Teaching guys how to network for positions and use their status as a hockey player to make connections before their career ends.
	Education opportunities	I think it would help if there were more career or educational programs that were offered. Make education a priority, do not allow hockey players to become people that have no desire to learn. The key is education. How you administer it and get players to listen is the tricky part.
	Internship opportunities	Co-op type jobs when players are still playing would help players find what they want to do next, instead of spending a couple years searching for the right job. Any program that attempts to bridge this gap via internship or on-the-job training that is also somehow compatible with the rigors and demands of off-season training.
	Employment opportunities	Having a better program set up for employment after hockey. Message boards with potential job opportunities for PHPA Alumni. Having opportunities for players within hockey lined up (e.g., direct hires to NHL, AHL, and ECHL clubs in coaching, scouting, etc.). Having jobs lined up that entail competitive nature; jobs that require athletic nature and hard work.

Figure 1. Overview of categories and subcategories.

Table 3. Frequencies of coded responses and correlations with self- reported depressive symptoms.

Questions	n (%)	M (SD) depression	Pearson's r
Question 1	N = 196 (92%)	6.9 (8.4)
Having a “home base”	104 (53%)	6.4 (7.2)	–.07
Stability in living circumstances	42 (21%)	6.5 (5.7)	–.03
Connected relationships	71 (36%)	6.5 (7.8)	–.05
Renewed freedom	98 (50%)	6.8 (8.5)	–.02
More time for activities	31 (16%)	7.3 (8.5)	.02
Pursuing new goals	55 (28%)	5.2 (7.5)	–.13
Building a new identity	16 (8%)	11.6 (11.2)	.17*
Ending the “grind”	56 (29%)	8.1 (10.1)	.09
Reduced physical demands	30 (15%)	7.3 (10.1)	.02
Leaving hockey culture	30 (15%)	8.8 (11.0)	.09
Question 2	N = 207 (97%)	7.3 (8.8)
Next career preparation	60 (29%)	8.1 (9.6)	.05
Social changes	76 (37%)	7.6 (9.0)	.03
Social isolation	9 (4%)	12 (12.6)	.11
Missing team environment	66 (32%)	6.9 (84)	–.03
Identity challenges	52 (25%)	10.2 (11.1)	.18**
Identity crisis	37 (18%)	11.7 (12.1)	.23**
Career regrets	17 (8%)	6.1 (6.9)	–.04
Missing the lifestyle	90 (43%)	6.7 (7.8)	-.06
Rigors of normal life	51 (25%)	6.5 (7.6)	–.06
Missing the game	46 (22%)	6.5 (8.0)	–.05
Prolonged injury	6 (3%)	7.7 (15.0)	.01
Question 3	N = 179 (84%)	7.3 (9.1)
Social support	65 (36%)	9.0 (9.7)	.14
Support networks	29 (16%)	7.2 (8.8)	–.002
Alumni support	29 (16%)	7.7 (9.1)	.02
Mental health outreach	16 (9%)	16.5 (11.4)	.32***
Next career support	135 (75%)	6.4 (8.7)	–.18*
Industry skills and strategies	94 (53%)	7.0 (9.5)	–.03
Education opportunities	36 (20%)	5.8 (8.0)	–.08
Internship opportunities	21 (12%)	5.3 (6.3)	–.08
Employment opportunities	19 (11%)	6.0 (7.5)	–.05

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .0001.

Figure 2. Estimated marginal means for question 1 subcategories. Note. Estimated marginal means from multiple linear regression model examining relationship between question 1 subcategories and depression while controlling for age, years retired, reason for retirement, educational attainment, annual income, and marital status.

Figure 3. Estimated marginal means for question 2 subcategories. Note. Estimated marginal means from multiple linear regression model examining relationship between question 2 subcategories and depression while controlling for age, years retired, reason for retirement, educational attainment, annual income, and marital status.

Figure 4. Estimated marginal means for question 3 subcategories. Note. Estimated marginal means from multiple linear regression model examining relationship between question 3 subcategories and depression while controlling for age, years retired, reason for retirement, educational attainment, annual income, and marital status.

Figure 5. Two subsets of athletes with self-reported identity-based experiences during athletic retirement. Note. Depression and Athletic Identity Exclusivity of former hockey players with identity-based responses for questions 1 and 2, including t scores comparing athletic identity and depression to the rest of the sample. * p < .05.