Academic Journal
It's like panem et circense: Evolving life themes and constructing a continuous sense of self in the transition out of elite sport.
| Title: | It's like panem et circense: Evolving life themes and constructing a continuous sense of self in the transition out of elite sport. |
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| Authors: | Hlasová H; Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: helena.hlasova@unibe.ch., Ronkainen NJ; Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. |
| Source: | Psychology of sport and exercise [Psychol Sport Exerc] 2026 Sep; Vol. 86, pp. 103220. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 09. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 101088724 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-5476 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 18785476 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Psychol Sport Exerc Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: [Amsterdam ; New York : Elsevier |
| MeSH Terms: | Athletes*/psychology , Retirement*/psychology , Sports*/psychology , Self Concept*, Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Narration ; Switzerland ; Adaptation, Psychological ; Middle Aged ; Personal Autonomy ; Motivation |
| Abstract: | Several studies have shown that athletic retirement can lead athletes to experience identity disruption, or in narrative terms, to 'narrative wreckage'. However, less is known about processes that support adaptive changes in athletes' narrative identities. This study uses Career Construction Theory, a narrative approach to career development, to examine how individuals' construct a continuous sense of self during the transition out of elite athletic careers. Sixteen Swiss elite athletes (eight women, eight men), representing both winter and summer sports, participated in narrative interviews within three months of announcing their athletic retirement. The data were analysed through a three-phase thematic narrative analysis. We identified five higher-order life themes (strive, autonomy, contribution to the collective, contentment and self-discovery) that unified and added meaning to athletes' stories about their careers. Importantly, in the final phases of analysis, we observed that all participants' stories involved a life theme change which informed the decision to retire and proactively began the process of narrative adaption. These changes were shaped via the three types of character arcs that we identified across the dataset that described how athletes' goals and motives evolved throughout their careers and ultimately explained why retirement provided continuity in their narratives despite objective change. The three character arc types (Maverick, Ember and Merrit) are conveyed through composite vignettes to enrich the findings. We discuss the implications of our findings for narrative career counselling for retiring athletes and processes that support identity continuity in athletic retirement. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Adaption; Athletic retirement; Career construction theory; Narrative identity; Transition out of elite sport |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260709 Date Completed: 20260722 Latest Revision: 20260903 |
| Update Code: | 20260904 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103220 |
| PMID: | 42425471 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1878-5476 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103220 |