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Dimensions of Athletic Identity and their Associations with Drinking Behaviors among a National Sample of University Athletes in the United States

  • Empirical Research
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A Correction to this article was published on 11 March 2023

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Abstract

Although prior studies have indicated athletic identity plays a role in alcohol use among college athletes, this research has largely drawn on a unidimensional conceptualization. Addressing this gap, the current study utilized a sample of 8,550 university athletes (Mage = 19.70 years, SD = 1.33, 50.8% men) from 203 U.S. post-secondary institutions to examine the associations between athletic identity dimensions (i.e., social identification, negative affectivity, and exclusivity) and alcohol use for athletes across gender, sport type, and division. The results indicated that negative affectivity and social identification were associated with higher levels of alcohol use, whereas exclusivity was associated with lower levels of alcohol use. Further, the association between dimensions of athletic identity and alcohol use varied across competitive level (i.e., Division I, II, and III). The findings implicate the need for (a) future research to approach athletic identity as a multidimensional concept when examining its association with alcohol use outcomes, and (b) post-secondary alcohol prevention professionals to integrate dimensions of athletic identity in alcohol prevention approaches.

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Notes

  1. The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that oversees over 1,000 North American intercollegiate athletics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, USA

    Alan Meca

  2. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA

    Kelsie Allison, Richie Kubilus & Kyla Carr

  3. University of New Brunswick, Saint John, Canada

    Janine V. Olthuis

  4. Brown University, Providence, USA

    Jennifer E. Merrill

  5. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA

    Byron L. Zamboanga

  6. University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA

    David Wyrick & Jeffrey J. Milroy

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  1. Alan Meca
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  2. Kelsie Allison
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  4. Janine V. Olthuis
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Contributions

AM conducted the data analyses and spearheaded paper preparation; KA assisted in data analysis and paper preparation; RIK assisted in data analysis and paper preparation; JO participated in paper preparation; JEM participated in paper preparation; BLZ conceptualized the larger study, spearheaded the development of the project surveys, and participated in paper preparation; KC participated in paper preparation; DW served as co-principal investigator, oversaw the implementation of the study and participated in paper preparation; and JJM served as co-principal investigator, oversaw the implementation of the study, and participated in manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final paper.

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The data underlying this article can be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author but will be contingent upon approval from the principal investigator’s institutional ethics review board.

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Correspondence to Alan Meca.

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Conflict of Interest

Meca, Martin, Olthuis, and Zamboanga serve as Research Affiliates for the Institute to Promote Athlete Health and Wellness (IPAHW; Directed by David L. Wyrick) at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (UNCG). They also serve as co-investigators for this study, the College Athlete Risky Drinking Study (CARDS), and received an honorarium from the IPAHW at the UNCG for their assistance with the study design and project implementation of CARDS.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Meca, A., Allison, K., Kubilus, R. et al. Dimensions of Athletic Identity and their Associations with Drinking Behaviors among a National Sample of University Athletes in the United States. J Youth Adolescence 50, 2363–2373 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01503-2

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