High-performance sports in children and adolescents from long-term perspective (KHLS-D3). Primary data of the third wave 1986.

Developmental Psychology

Authors(s) / Creator(s)

Kaminski, Gerhard

Abstract

The project "Child and Adolescent High-Performance Sports from a Long-Term Perspective" is the third and final data collection stage (D3) of a longitudinal study on athletes (mean age 12.6 years) participating in three selected sports (figure skating, swimming, gymnastics). It began in October 1974 (D1). Basic questions were:

(1) What are the essential characteristics of children/adolescents participating in high performance sports (HPS) compared to "normal" children and adolescents?
(2) Does the involvement in the HPS affect the lifestyle of the athlete in positive and negative ways?
(3) How does the situation change over a period of 4 years (D2, from September 1978, mean age 16.6 years)?

In contrast, at D3 the following issues were of interest:

(4) How does the HPS career end?
(5) How is the transition from an HPS to a normal, everyday life then accomplished?
(6) What is the cause of a premature termination of the HPS career?

At the time of survey D3 (1986), not all of the participants (mean age 24) had actually retired from competitive sports. Therefore, at D3 two subsamples are distinguished as:

Already dropped out of HPS (75 subjects) and
Still active in HPS (19 subjects).

Accordingly, 3 survey instruments were used:

A general questionnaire (for all subjects),
A "drop-out" questionnaire, and
A "still active" questionnaire.

A qualitative methodology had more weight at D3 because of the focus on descriptive goal setting. The 3 questionnaires, therefore, contained many open-ended questions to which the athlete could formulate their respective view in detail, using everyday language and wording. The resulting consequences of this methodology for the data processing and analysis are presented in the methods section.

The specific thematic focus of the D3 project corresponds to a specific theoretical foundation. This helps to clarify the issues and to support the detailed planning of the methodological tools. Priority is given to decision theory and transition theory conceptualizations, which in turn are embedded in an overall ecological-psychological perspective. More details concerning this as well as the entire D3 project are available under kigd86ki19_in.txt in the template file. This also includes proposals for possible uses of the data.

The primary data for the study are provided in 4 files. Of these, the 3 questionnaires which were used are matched to the files they were used in. The fourth (special) file contains some data from the D2 survey of participants who no longer participated in the investigation at D3.

Persistent Identifier

https://doi.org/10.5160/psychdata.kigd86ki19

Year of Publication

2005

Funding

German Institute of Sport Science

Citation

Kaminski, G. (2005). High-performance sports in children and adolescents from long-term perspective (KHLS-D3). Primary data of the third wave 1986. (Version 1.0.0) [Data and Documentation]. Trier: Research Data Center at ZPID. https://doi.org/10.5160/psychdata.kigd86ki19

Study Description

Research Questions/Hypotheses:

Research Design:

Partially Standardized Survey Instrument (provides question formulation; open answer format); single measurement

Measurement Instruments/Apparatus:

At the time of measurement D3, 3 questionnaires were used (see study description):

1. General questionnaire for the total sample:
Questions covering the following topics:

socio-demographic information
“warm-up questions” about high performance sport (HPS)
training, relationship to coach, and physical impairments
due to HPS
influencing on the HPS commitment by other areas of life
HPS career start and overall assessment of HPS
financial burdens and support
significance of HPS commitment in conjunction with lif after HPS
motivation for HPS
importance of public interest on career
limitations of free time due to HPS commitment
education and HPS
free-time activities
time perspective
personality-shaping through the HPS
habitual success/failure-interpretation (“Attribution”)
experience of worries and distress
attitude toward performance and performance pressure
advantages and disadvantages due to HPS

2. “Dropouts” questionnaire (subsample of the subjects that ended their HPS career):
Questions concerning the following topics:

basic information concerning end of HPS career
initial considerations to end career
concrete implementation of resolve to end career
Further details concerning the end of career
current commitment to sport
difficulties or ease involved in ending career
subjective closure of career
emotional cost of ending HPS career
adjustment following career end
life after HPS
aftermath effects of HPS career
financial security postHPS career
hindsight, overall perspective of HPS, retirement from HPS, and the transition to a life after HPS.

3. HPS-active subjects questionnaire (subsample of the still-active subjects at time D3):
Questions concerning the following topics:

future commitment to HPS
main HPS-commitment motivation
outlook toward career end
outlook toward life postHPS career
financial security postHPS career
life postHPS
positive and negative effects of commitment to HPS
retrospective cumulative assessment of HPS commitment
deliberations of HPS phase-out, reactions to these deliberations

Mostly freehand answers to relatively “open” questions, a few questions involving rating scales.

Data Collection Method:

Data collection in the absence of an experimenter

Mail Survey

Population:

teen high-performance athletes

Survey Time Period:

1986 (measurement time point D3, the first 2 surveys were begun in October 1974 and September 1978)

Sample:

Convenience sample

Gender Distribution:

52,1% female participants (n=49)
47,9% male participants (n=45)

Age Distribution: 20-27 years

Spatial Coverage (Country/Region/City): Germany

Subject Recruitment:

The recruitment of the sample was done at measurement time points D1 and D2 via the German national trainers and other sports officials involved in figure skating, swimming, and gymnastics. The subjects were paid with 40 DM for their participation. At measurement time point D3, all participants from D2 were asked to participate again.

Sample Size:

94 individuals

Return/Drop Out:

Of the 117 proposed athletes, 107 were selected for the investigation and a final 98 athletes took part at D1. Of these, 89 subjects could also be obtained for the D2 survey. Following the same procedure, 53 more athletes were selected to take part at D2, creating a sample size of 142 subjects. Of these 142 subjects, 94 participated in the survey at D3 (8 years later).

kigd86ki19_pd1.txt

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