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IntroductionThe development of identity formation occurs during adolescence through experiences, ideals and principle. With greater accessibility to sports, recent trends have shown increased rates of sports specialization over the past decade in youth athletes. Athletic identity measures the strength an individual is tied to the athlete role and can be formed in conjunction to adolescent identity formation. More specialized youth athletes may have stronger ties to their athletic identity during their adolescent identity formation period.MethodsYouth basketball athletes were surveyed on specialization levels and athletic identity via the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), including three submeasures: social identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity.ResultsParticipants showed stronger identification to social identity items and the weakest identification with exclusivity items. Athletes reporting more time spent playing their primary sport presented higher scores across all measures of athletic identity, and total athletic identity was stronger in athletes reporting specialization at an earlier age. Exclusivity and negative affectivity tended to increase with specialization level which may primarily be driven by specialized athletes choosing to quit non-primary sports.DiscussionAthletic identity may be worth noting as a psychological indicator of potential risk of injury. The long-term goal of this work is to provide the research and clinical community a greater understanding of a potential psychosocial risk factor as youth athletes continue specializing and spending more time training in a singular sport.

IntroductionWhile youth sports benefits the developing athlete, athletes may also be subject to injury and subsequent return-to-sport protocols. The current return-to-sport criteria emphasize physical measures; however, psychological measures may also be valuable to inform providers of an athlete’s readiness. One such measure is athletic identity defined as the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role. To better understand athletic identity in return-to-sport, this study aimed to identify relationships and trends between the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), demographic variables, sport participation measures, and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28) in youth athletes during rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).MethodsA retrospective review was completed of patients who underwent ACLR at a sports medicine clinic between October 2019 and May 2021. Patients responded to a series of patient reported outcomes (PROs) regarding physical and psychological function at a pre-surgical baseline and after 1 year of rehabilitation. Patients were then divided into groups of high/low AIMS and an increased/decreased AIMS between 1 year and baseline for comparison. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVAs were performed as appropriate with a 95% confidence interval.ResultsIn the final sample, 87 patients (15.3 ± 1.8 years) were included, with 51.7% being females. Total AIMS scores decreased from 50.3 to 47.5 over rehabilitation (p = 0.019). Furthermore, results indicated that nearly all AIMS scores decreased during rehabilitation, with none showing an increase; however, not all domains were significant. Conversely, all sport participation and coping ability PROs increased over time points except for ACSI-Confidence and Achievement Motivation. Generally, those in the groups with high AIMS and an increase in AIMS also had higher scores in physical function and coping ability PROs, with the groups separated by high/low AIMS exhibiting more frequent statistical significance.DiscussionGiven these results, it appears that athletes may lose identification with the athlete role after ACLR and struggle even 1 year for rehabilitation, but those who recover athletic identity the best may also be those able to cope most effectively with the stressors induced by injury.

Athletic identity, or the degree with which individuals identify with the athlete role, is an important rehabilitation factor for sports care providers to consider; however, it lacks extensive study in youth. The purpose of this study was to identify demographic, sport participation, and psychosocial measures which correlate with youth athletic identity after anterior cruciate ligament injury. Participants completed standardized sports medicine intake and patient-reported outcome measures, including the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). A total of 226 participants were included, and two groups were created based on high or low total AIMS score. Results indicated that sex (p = 0.002), years active in sport (p = 0.049), activity level (p = 0.038), and ACSI-Coachability (p = 0.027) differed by AIMS score. While youth athletes appear resilient, these results emphasize that they identify strongly with the athlete role and may suffer psychosocial consequences after injury. Future work should evaluate similar factors over course of recovery in a larger, diversified population.