Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
8-2007
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph. D.
Department
Health and Sport Sciences
Committee Chair
Hums, Mary A.
Author's Keywords
Student-athlete; College sport; International students
Subject
College athletes
Abstract
During the 2004-05 school year, over 10,000 international student-athletes competed for National Collegiate Athletic Association schools (NCAA, 2006b). Few researchers have examined how international student-athletes' college experiences compare to domestic student-athletes. The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to detect differences between international and domestic student-athletes in regards to adaptation to college, (b) to detect differences between international and domestic student-athletes in regards to their view of the purpose of college sports, and (c) to determine whether student-athletes' views on the purpose of college sport help predict social adjustment to college or institutional attachment. A national sample of international and domestic student-athletes from 11 NCAA Division I institutions completed an instrument comprised of the social adjustment and institutional attachment scales from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker and Siryk, 1989) and the seven factor scales from a modified version of the Purpose of Sport Questionnaire developed by Duda (1989). A total of 288 student-athletes completed the instrument, 174 of whom were international student-athletes representing 49 different countries. Results showed international student-athletes scored significantly lower on the social adjustment and institutional attachment scales compared to domestic student-athletes. Among the seven purpose of sport factors, only the factor of competitiveness revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, with international student-athletes ranking the factor lower than domestic student-athletes. None of the purpose of sport factors significantly predicted social adjustment to college for either domestic or international student-athletes. Several purpose of sport factors significantly predicted institutional attachment, however. A discussion of results and their implications are outlined.
Recommended Citation
Popp, Nels, "International student-athlete perception of college sport and its effect on adjustment to college." (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1142.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1142
