TY - CHAP

T1 - Russian student-athletes’ double careers: analysis of socio-psychological difficulties

AU - Ilina, Natalia Leonidovna

AU - Berezovskaya, Regina Anatolyevna

N1 - Natalia Leonidovna Ilina, Regina Anatolyevna Berezovskaya. Russian student-athletes’ double careers: analysis of socio-psychological difficulties. THE 15TH EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF SPORT AND EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY Münster, Germany, 15-20.07. 2019. рр.56

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - In European studies on sport psychology the number of publications focused on the issues of maintaining life balance among athletes and effectively combining sports with other activities (including education, work, creating a family, raising children and others) increases every year (EU Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes, 2012). For Russian psychology of sport and related branches of knowledge a term of “dual career” (DC) is a relatively new concept. Previous researchers have shown that the problem of combining sports career and education at the university level is also relevant for the Russian reality, especially for students with a high sports qualification (Afanasyev & Zotov, 2014; Galimov, 2016; Hubbiev, 2010). To investigate the difficulties of DC in our study we used a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire for assessing the frequency of main difficulties’ occurrence. The sample was comprised of 115, male and female, age with a range from 17 to 21. Four categories of difficulties were identified through thematic content analysis: 1) time and moving from place to place, 2) financial, 3) communicative, 4) cognitive and emotional. The results showed that student-athletes are experiencing a large number of organisational and psychological difficulties. Thus, we work out a scientifically based career assistance programme, aimed at developing coping strategies such as stress and time management. Suggestions for promoting skills to maintain life balance through the effective use of both internal and external resources are discussed.

AB - In European studies on sport psychology the number of publications focused on the issues of maintaining life balance among athletes and effectively combining sports with other activities (including education, work, creating a family, raising children and others) increases every year (EU Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes, 2012). For Russian psychology of sport and related branches of knowledge a term of “dual career” (DC) is a relatively new concept. Previous researchers have shown that the problem of combining sports career and education at the university level is also relevant for the Russian reality, especially for students with a high sports qualification (Afanasyev & Zotov, 2014; Galimov, 2016; Hubbiev, 2010). To investigate the difficulties of DC in our study we used a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire for assessing the frequency of main difficulties’ occurrence. The sample was comprised of 115, male and female, age with a range from 17 to 21. Four categories of difficulties were identified through thematic content analysis: 1) time and moving from place to place, 2) financial, 3) communicative, 4) cognitive and emotional. The results showed that student-athletes are experiencing a large number of organisational and psychological difficulties. Thus, we work out a scientifically based career assistance programme, aimed at developing coping strategies such as stress and time management. Suggestions for promoting skills to maintain life balance through the effective use of both internal and external resources are discussed.

M3 - Other chapter contribution

SP - 56

BT - The 15th European Congress of Sport and Exercise Psychology

T2 - 15th European Congress of Sport & Exercise Psychology

Y2 - 15 July 2019 through 20 July 2019

ER -