Collegiate Athletes’ Perceptions Of Sport Psychology: A Qualitative Investigation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of sport psychology that existed among athletes at a NCAA Division I university, as well as why such perceptions were held and how they came to be formed.Thirteen (7 male, 6 female; 8 Caucasian, 5 African-American) student-athletes representing a variety of individual and team sports were interviewed.Through qualitative analysis of indepth personal interviews with the athletes, the meanings that the athletes attached to sport psychology were revealed.Five themes emerged: mental aspects of sports, problems and issues, lack of support, good for the team, and no interest in sport psychology.The results suggest that the athletes in the study perceive sport psychology as dealing with the mental aspect of sports, that they generally consider sport psychology services to be of value to them, and that they believe significant others in their lives might view those who seek such services negatively.