An exploratory study of athletic identity in university physical education students

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the athletic identity of physical education students, as well as the impact of their experience (college age), the level of participation in physical activities and gender on their selfconcept of their athletic role. Three hundred and thirty three physical education students participated in this study. One hundred and eighty one participated in a total of 16 sports (e.g., gymnastics), 124 recreational activities, and 25 undertook no physical activity at all. All participants completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS; Brewer & Cornelius, 2001). The results revealed that the participants achieved a marginally high score in athletic identity and that there was no gender difference found in the participants’ concept of their athletic role. MANOVAs indicated that grade (college age) and level of participation in physical activities have a negative effect on the shaping of athletic identity in this student population.