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Abstract

The stay-at-home measures enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic led to sudden changes in the lives of individuals worldwide. For high school student-athletes, these changes meant transitioning to online schooling, heavily reducing their social activities, and enduring the cancelation of sport activities. Scholars have expressed concerns related to the potential consequences of these changes on adolescents’ self-identity and psychological distress. The purpose of the present study was to qualitatively explore how the changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic affected high school student-athletes’ self-identity and psychological distress. Twenty-two Canadian high school student-athletes were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Transcripts were subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis, leading to the creation of four central themes: (a) Pre-COVID Identity; (b) COVID Identity Confusion; (c) COVID Psychosocial Distress; and (d) Learning to Dance in the COVID Rain. This study sheds light on the pandemic-related experiences of high school student-athletes in relation to sport cancelation measures and provides insights into how stay-at-home restrictions impacted self-identity and psychological distress levels. These results can help inform interventions aimed at supporting the well-being of high school student-athletes now that school sport programs have resumed operations.

Plain Language Summary

Twenty-two interviews were conveyed to understand the experiences of Canadian high school student-athletes on how the changes induced by the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures affected their self-identity and psychological distress. Results offer insights on the participants’ feelings of identity confusion during the forced cessation of sports and their coping process.

Keywords

COVID-19 adolescents psychological distress sport athletic identity

Implication for Practice

The study offers tangible first-hand accounts of student-athletes’ lived experiences that can help researchers pay attention to adolescent athletes’ sports transition preparedness (or lack thereof).

The study supports the idea that close cooperation should be advocated between schools, coaches, and families because their complementary role in monitoring the mental health of student-athletes is key in supporting adolescents’ well-being (Reardon et al., 2021).

The study being cross-sectional in nature, future research is encouraged to longitudinally examine the impacts of the pandemic on adolescents’ self-identity, psychological distress levels, and overall mental health as they transition to early adulthood.

In Canada, once COVID-19 was declared a pandemic (March 2020), over 750,000 high school student-athletes were unexpectedly forced to stay home, move to online schooling, and saw all their sport activities canceled (School Sport Canada, 2022). The psychological distress associated with abrupt sport cancelations was detrimental on many fronts (e.g., psychological, social; McGuine et al., 2021) and was associated with adverse outcomes, including harm to self-identity (Esopenko et al., 2020). The concept of self-identity has received considerable attention in the sport psychology literature (e.g., Oyserman et al., 2012). Researchers have characterized self-identity in sport as the “athletic identity,” which refers to “the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role” (Brewer et al., 1993, p. 237). The strength of identification with the athlete role often refers to the extent to which one’s self-worth is contingent on performance and involvement in the athlete role (Brewer et al., 2018). Athletic identity processes include social reinforcement for sport involvement and self-presentation, which is manifested in terms of presenting oneself to others as an athlete. In a review of the literature on athletic identity in sport psychology, Ronkainen et al. (2016) concluded that athletic identity can be a positive source of meaning and self-esteem but can also be problematic for well-being when sport participants are not meeting expectations, or when sport participation is abruptly terminated due to injury or deselection. Although positive associations have been documented between athletic identity and indicators of favorable psychological adjustment (Martin, 1999), the transition from the athlete role can induce psychological distress for athletes who strongly identify with that role (Pearson & Petitpas, 1990). Athletic identity is relevant not only to sport transitions faced by older athletes (e.g., Park et al., 2013), but also to sport transitions experienced by younger athletes, which for many abruptly coincided with the unexpected COVID-19 sport cancelation measures.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, which caused devastating economic and social disruptions worldwide that are still ongoing. The adverse psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic due to stay-at-home measures (i.e., lockdowns, quarantines, social distancing) have been widely acknowledged (e.g., Xiong et al., 2020). For instance, Brooks et al. (2020) reviewed studies evaluating the psychological impact of quarantines and confirmed that it can be wide ranging, substantial, and long-lasting. The duration of the quarantine, fear of catching the disease, frustration, boredom, and potential lack of supplies were all contributing stressors to increasing one’s psychological distress (Brooks et al., 2020). There are, however, only a few studies that have examined the impact of stay-at-home measures on adolescents, more precisely high school student-athletes who lost the opportunity to play high school sports for varying yet extended periods of time during the pandemic (Rider et al., 2021). One qualitative study by Shepherd et al. (2021) examined high school student-athletes’ experiences with physical activity, mental health, and social connections during the COVID-19 pandemic through 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with individuals from the province of Alberta in Canada. Results indicated a substantial increase in anxiety and a decrease in physical activity, social connections, and self-reported mental health for most high school student-athletes. A quantitative study by Liu (2020) reported negative psychological impacts from the pandemic on 115 high school student-athletes from the province of Ontario in Canada, with 90.5% expressing feelings of isolation and disconnection, 79.1% having feelings of anxiety, depression, and frustration, 86.1% identifying a worry for a loss of fitness, and 91.3% being concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their next sport season. These studies highlight the importance of better understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on high school student-athletes, especially in Canada where hundreds of thousands of adolescents enrolled in high school sport programs (School Sport Canada, 2022) saw their practices and competitions canceled as part of prolonged stay-at-home orders. As a highly valued and highly popular activity, more research is needed in high school sport to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents and particularly on how these stay-at-home measures impacted student-athletes’ self-identity and psychological distress levels (LaForge-MacKenzie et al., 2022).

Psychological distress is common among adolescents (e.g., I. C. Marsh et al., 2018) as they learn to make effective choices between alternatives, events that if not properly resolved, may contribute to heightened distress (Byrne et al., 2007). Psychological distress is defined as a state of suffering that may lead to reversible and nonreversible psychopathologies (e.g., chronic anxiety, depression) over time (Sampasa-Kanyinga et al., 2020). The most common distress experiences in adolescence are related to stress, anxiety, and depression (Cummings et al., 2014). Since March 2020, the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures have induced additional psychological distress on adolescents, exemplified by increased rates of symptoms associated with psychiatric conditions (i.e., depression, stress, anxiety, panic; Hawes et al., 2021). In consideration of adolescents being more vulnerable to environmental stressors and having fewer strategies than adults to cope with sudden changes, research is needed to examine the well-being of adolescents confronting the psychosocial after-effects of having lived through a global pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the experiences of Canadian high school student-athletes by qualitatively exploring how the changes induced by the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures affected their self-identity and psychological distress. Sport participation continues to be one of the most popular activities among youth and an activity that garners considerable reinforcement from teammates and adults (Eime et al., 2013). A passion for sport can be a great motivation for life, so much so that it’s separation could cause important identity disturbances and psychological distress. Therefore, three research questions guided the present study: (a) What were the experiences of high school student-athletes who lived through COVID-19 sport cancelation measures?; (b) How was the self-identity of high school student-athletes impacted due to COVID-19 sport cancelation measures?; and (c) How did the COVID-19 sport cancelation measures impact high school student-athletes’ psychological distress levels?

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework used in the present study is Erikson’s theory (1968) of psychosocial development, which emphasizes the social nature of human maturation from infancy through late adulthood. The theory suggests that the process by which humans interact socially helps determine their sense of self. According to this theory, the fusion between psychological and social development takes place during eight phases of a person’s life. At each phase of psychosocial development, a crisis arises, which must be resolved by achieving a balance between two opposing forces. Failing to successfully resolve each phase of development risks compromising the individual’s future identity. Furthermore, it is important to mention that a phase does not need to be resolved for another phase to begin, as Erikson suggested that phases can overlap. A phase not mastered at an earlier age may extend and develop through other phases later in life. Nevertheless, the positive resolution of a phase, according to Erikson (1968), allows the individual to more easily resolve the following phase. Erikson’s (1968) eight phases of psychosocial development are: Trust versus Mistrust (i.e., from birth to 18-months old, baby learns to trust caregiver), Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (i.e., from 18-months old to 3 years old, toddler establishes a foundation for self-belief and autonomy), Initiative versus Guilt (i.e., from 3 to 6 years old, preschooler learns to set aims and goals), Industry versus Inferiority (i.e., from 6 to 12 years old, child becomes aware of their individuality, seek praise and support), Identity versus Role Confusion (i.e., from 12 to 20 years old, adolescent tries to figure out their identity and place in the world), Intimacy versus Isolation (i.e., from 20 to 45 years old, young adult builds meaningful relationships), Generativity versus Stagnation/Self-absorption (i.e., from 45 to 65 years old, adult cares for others and feels the need to pass along knowledge to younger generations), and Integrity versus Despair (i.e., from 65 and on, late adult feels satisfied and accomplished with their life).

In the present study, phase five described in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, Identity versus Role Confusion, is examined more closely. This phase occurs during adolescence, a transitional period of pronounced biopsychosocial growth (World Health Organization, 2021) characterized by an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals (Erikson, 1968). The concept of self-identity refers to people’s mental representation of who they are. Erikson (1968) used the term identity crisis, or role confusion, to describe the temporary instability and disorientation adolescents experience as they struggle with alternatives and choices. When identity formation successfully occurs at phase five, as opposed to feelings of role confusion, a strong sense of self is induced, which usually remains present throughout the lifespan. Today, contemporary research continues to draw from Erikson’s theory to gain insights into psychosocial development during adolescence, with studies conducted by scholars such as Battaglia et al. (2022), de Carvalho and Veiga (2022), Rogers (2018), Solobutina (2020), and Tomalski et al. (2019) exemplifying its ongoing relevance. According to recent findings, a strong sense of identity is more likely to lead to lower levels of psychological distress (Erikson, 1950) and higher levels of overall functioning (e.g., increased self-esteem; Adler et al., 2016). Furthermore, a stable identity could promote resilience, reflective thinking, and autonomy in the pursuit of important life decisions, while optimizing feelings of competence (e.g., Kroger et al., 2010). In light of these findings, the school, sport, home, and workplace environments are where adolescents spend the most of their time and are contexts where self-identity development can be actively supported (Verhoeven et al., 2019).

Erickson’s theory is used in the present study to contribute to our understanding of student-athlete self-identity by helping frame how COVID-19 sport cancelations impacted participants’ sense of self and, therefore, their identity development. Specifically, Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development, Identity versus Role Confusion, is particularly relevant, where the COVID-19 sport cancelations disrupted student-athletes’ ability to explore and develop their athletic identities, potentially leading to role confusion and identity crisis.

Positionality

The present study was guided by a relativist ontology (i.e., a reality considered subjective, multiple, fluid, and contextually dependent) and a social constructivist epistemology (i.e., knowledge that is socially constructed through interactions with the world and between researchers and participants; Smith & McGannon, 2017). Ontologically, there are multiple mutually constitutive realities of how student-athletes experienced participating in organized high school sports across Canada. From an epistemological point of view, the aim of this research was to situate how the COVID-19 pandemic hindered participants’ sport participation, which impacted their self-identity and ultimately their psychological distress.

As a researcher, I (first author) acknowledge how my cultural background, experiences, worldviews, and developmental contexts merge and have influenced how I conducted this study (Braun & Clarke, 2019, 2021). I identify as a white woman, middle-class Canadian citizen and doctoral student. I am a former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athlete in Division 1 tennis, with no prior mental health diagnosis, and I am pursuing studies in sport and exercise psychology (Ryba et al., 2013). These experiences have influenced my interpretation of the data, which impacted the knowledge-building process. In doing so, consistent with my privileged position as a researcher, I worked to remain reflective throughout the research process when interpreting the lived experiences of the participants. The second author self-identifies as a white man and university professor. He acknowledges how his positionality comes with historical entitlements and how he must continuously remain reflexive of his angle of vision and how it influences his sense-making efforts surrounding high school sport, COVID-19, self-identity, and psychological distress. The third author self-identifies as a white woman, psychoeducator, university professor, and former athlete. As such, she recognizes that her personal experiences as an athlete, a professional in the field of psychosocial intervention, and a woman may influence her research questions and interpretation of certain findings.

Method

Context and Participants

The present study is part of a larger project that longitudinally examines, over a 5-year period, the association between high school sport participation and psychosocial development and mental health. With the collaboration of School Sport Canada, participants were recruited via (a) school boards who provided ethical consent or (b) social media platforms. Within the larger project, 930 participants (i.e., student-athletes in grades 11–12) were initially recruited at year-one (i.e., 2019–2020 school year) to complete an online survey examining Canadian high school student-athletes’ mental health at late adolescence (see Sabourin et al., 2022 for more information). For the present study, to dive deeper into the experiences of the participants in relation to their high school sport participation, self-identity, and psychological distress levels since the onset of the pandemic, all year-one student-athletes were emailed an invitation to take part in an interview. Of the 31 participants who replied to the invitation, a total of 22 participants willingly provided their consent to participate (Mage = 17.682; SD = 1.061). All interviews were conducted in English except for three in French. Participants were spread across eight different Canadian provinces and territories. See Table 1 for more details on demographics.

Table 1.

Participant Demographic Information.

Participant (pseudonym)	Age (years)	Gender identity	Province of residence	Sport(s) practiced	Language of interview
Alex	17	Man	Manitoba	Volleyball, Baseball	English
Anya	17	Woman	Ontario	Volleyball, Basketball	English
Alicia	19	Woman	Ontario	Cross-country, Track	English
Andrew	19	Man	British Columbia	Soccer, Basketball	English
Tyler	17	Man	Alberta	Football, Track	English
Charlotte	16	Woman	Québec	Volleyball	French
Dylan	18	Man	British Columbia	Basketball	English
Fillip	18	Man	Alberta	Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Track	English
Gina	18	Woman	Saskatchewan	Basketball, Soccer, Cross-country, Track	English
Jake	20	Man	Prince Edward Island	Rugby	English
John	19	Man	British Columbia	Cross-country, Track	English
Joseph	18	Man	British Columbia	Hockey	English
Kimmy	16	Woman	British Columbia	Volleyball, Basketball	English
Luke	19	Man	Yukon	Volleyball	English
Meredith	18	Woman	British Columbia	Volleyball, Basketball	English
Maggy	17	Woman	Ontario	Cross-country, Track, Swimming	English
Maxie	17	Woman	Québec	Volleyball, Basketball	French
Sabrina	18	Woman	British Columbia	Basketball, Volleyball, Track	English
Terrance	17	Man	British Columbia	Badminton	English
Thomas	18	Man	Alberta	Cheerleading	English
Jules	17	Man	British Columbia	Basketball, Volleyball, Track	English
Louisa	16	Woman	Québec	Volleyball, Basketball	French

Procedure

Prior to data collection, university ethical approval was obtained. The 22 student-athletes who completed the survey at year-one and consented to take part in the study were individually interviewed to discuss their participation in organized activities, their experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the effects of the pandemic on their self-identity and psychological distress. Interviews were conducted online at a time convenient to both the interviewer and the participant. The interviews were recorded using the Zoom videoconferencing platform (Zoom Video Communications, Inc., 2021), took place in English or French, and occurred between January 22, 2021, and March 2, 2021. Most participants (n = 15) were still in high school, while the others (n = 7) had transitioned into their first year of university at the time of interviewing. The interviews ranged in duration from 35 to 76 min (M = 50.61; SD = 12.21) and were conducted by two doctoral students with graduate-level training in qualitative interviewing. The first bilingual doctoral student conducted interviews in French (n = 3) and English (n = 11), while the other doctoral student conducted eight interviews in English. Prior to the interviews, interviewers reviewed the consent form verbally, reminded the participants of the voluntary nature of the study and their rights to confidentiality. Prior to data collection, the interview guides in English and French were pilot tested with two high school student-athletes, resulting in minor changes in both languages (e.g., question order; wording). The pilot interviews were not included in the final sample.

Data Collection

A semi-structured interview format was privileged, allowing for enhanced flexibility in having participants clarify, elaborate, or rephrase answers if need be. The interview guide was divided into five sections: (a) demographic information, including breadth and intensity of participation in organized activities (e.g., Can you describe your experiences in high school sport?), (b) questions about screen time and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on your daily screen time habits?), (c) questions on psychosocial development and self-identity in sport before and during the pandemic (e.g., How do you believe sports have influenced yourself and your development?), (d) questions on psychological distress and mental health before and during the pandemic (e.g., What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on your mental health?), and (e) concluding questions offering an overview of student-athlete experiences (e.g., What has been the role of sport in your life during the COVID-19 pandemic?) The interview guide is available upon request to the first author.

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using a reflexive and deductive approach to thematic analysis (TA; Braun & Clarke, 2019, 2021). Here, a deductive approach signifies that existing research and theory were integrated as part of the lens through which the data were analyzed and interpreted (Braun & Clarke, 2021). To do so, all 22 interviews were first transcribed verbatim and reviewed by the authors. The analysis was led by the first author and supported by the second and third authors. Braun et al. (2016) six-phase data engagement, coding, and theme development approach was used for the data analysis process, which involved: (a) data familiarization; (b) systematic data coding; (c) generating initial themes from coded and collated data; (d) developing and reviewing themes; (e) refining, defining, and naming themes; and (f) writing the report. The first author started data analysis at phase one by first transcribing the interviews and then reading each transcript thoroughly. During a second read, notes were taken as comments in the margins and sections were highlighted and actively reflected upon for potential meanings and patterns. Familiarization with the data at phase one thus involved a deep engagement with the interview transcripts through transcribing, thorough readings, informal notes, and initial meanings. Phase two involved generating initial codes, the building blocks of a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013) and the foundation needed to develop initial themes (Braun et al., 2016). Data were manually coded on printed paper as this method felt most practical. The Identity versus Role Confusion phase from Erikson’s (1968) theory of psychosocial development guided the coding process, where strong identity citations from the participants were first highlighted and re-read to get a sense of the messages conveyed. Once phase two codification was finalized, at phase three, an excel sheet was created with the aim of classifying and organizing the citations from the transcripts. During this process, preliminary themes started to form (e.g., COVID-19 adaptation mechanisms; sport as an identity construction; psychosocial skills learnt). Citations from the participants were copy-pasted into their respective preliminary themes. Once all citations were organized, each section of the excel file was printed, reread, and annotated once more to instigate further reflections and theme refinement. Phase four comprised the creation of a thematic map to see if the initial codes (at phase two) fit into the themes. At this time, the second and third authors entered the analytic process as critical friends (Smith & McGannon, 2017). The thematic map was refined over time with further reflections made from meetings with critical friends, explorations of Erikson’s (1968) theory, and readings of the literature. The study’s research questions constantly acted as a guide during theme development and provided support in the latent coding process (i.e., codes capturing implicit meaning, such as ideas, meanings, concepts, assumptions which were not explicitly stated by the participant; Terry et al., 2017). As a research team, we had engaging discussions that yielded new understandings congruent with reflexive thematic analysis and the epistemological view of constructivism, accounting for the influence of our personal interpretations as researchers. Phase five consisted of each theme being refined and named to illustrate the participants’ experiences and their stories. Citations were identified during phase to vividly illustrate the participants’ experiences. Finally, the report was written over several versions by embedding the refined themes and citations into a rich analytic narrative of high school student-athletes’ experiences relating to identity and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Quality

In attempts to enhance study quality, a relativist approach was used (Sparkes & Smith, 2009). Debriefs with peers and co-researchers provided further insights on the interpretations being made by offering feedback on the thematic map and report (Burke, 2016). Debriefs took place at every step of the analysis, as well as the writing of the report. The first author also ensured to really take her time with the analysis, going through many thorough reads of the transcripts and notes, and by allowing herself some reflection time (Burke, 2016).

Results

The results share the student-athletes’ experiences at different time points, each encompassing several subthemes: (a) The Pre-COVID Identity: Athletics create the foundation for taking ownership of life; (b) The COVID Identity Confusion: “If I can’t do sports, I don’t even know who I am”; (c) The COVID Psychosocial Distress: COVID heightened anxiety. “I kind of had to stay alone with my thoughts”; and (d) Learning to Dance in the COVID Rain: “Nothing will ever define you forever. I had sports, now I have to move past it.”

The Pre-COVID Identity: Athletics Create the Foundation for Taking Ownership of Life

During interviewing, a strong sense of identification and belongingness to sport was shared. All participants identified strongly to their sporting practice from a personal development standpoint (i.e., sport as a means to improve self-awareness and identity, enhance quality of life) as well as a psychosocial development standpoint (i.e., sport as a means to develop skills, build social capital). This strong sense of identification to sport speaks highly to the concept of athletic identity, where individuals associate with the athlete role and look to others for acknowledgment of such a role (Brewer et al., 1993). In line with such perspective and according to Erikson’s (1968) phases of psychosocial development, the following subthemes express how participants experienced their high school sport programs.

“I’m Tyler the Football Player”

Participants’ attitudes toward high school sport participation were revealing of its importance in their life. In fact, all participants expressed how they identified strongly to their sport. For instance, Anya shared how special playing sport makes her feel: “I like athletics, I play volleyball, basketball, rowing, sailing, softball, and it’s just one of the first things I go to to identify myself. I’m the sporty one.” Andrew also made clear connections between the impact of sport in his life and how it helps him paint his real persona: “Sports were kind of where I learned the most about myself. When I was out on the field or out on the basketball court, that was always where my true colors kind of came out. My true self.” Similarly, Sabrina stated how she identifies as a volleyball player and leader, which gives her much self-confidence:

It [volleyball] allowed me to definitely carry myself with more competence, posture, and belief in myself. I’m just not questioning my worth and I’m not questioning where I stand. I’m not allowing other people to dictate who I am. I’m a strong individual.

Across the board, participants identified strongly with the athlete role, with sport perceived as a medium for personal growth and a leverage for enhanced psychosocial skills, as Tyler shared: “Sports kind of give an identity, like I used to just be Tyler. But now … I’m Tyler the football player, which brought me to Tyler the leader to Tyler the athlete and to Tyler with aspirations.” Meredith pushed her reflections by discussing how sport was experienced as empowering and beneficial to the development of a new version of herself: “Just having that like, sense of accomplishment … I would definitely say that sport impacted my life in a very, very positive way. I feel accomplished. I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t played sports.”

Sports as a Lifeline

Participants shared personal stories to express the positive impact of sport participation when facing distressful life experiences. Luke described how sport helped him overcome the downsides of living in the Yukon and provided a stronger meaning to his life:

I [enjoyed volleyball], it was … how do I describe this. On average, the temperature gets to minus 40 in the winter time, so it was very nice to be able to be inside in a safe space and participate in something that actually made my life worthwhile I guess [laughs]. It really did help, put a … I want to say meaning to my life.

Meredith also communicated a personal story to express how she overcame distress during childhood by playing sports and how positive this impact was on the person she has become:

When I was younger, I got bullied a lot. So, when I finally started playing sports in high school and I was good at them, it really made me feel better about myself, like I had something that I was good at … I would definitely say that sports made me who I am.

Sabrina explained how sport benefited her life by playing a positive role in her personal development, psychosocial development, and overall well-being. She believed sport participation allowed a space for her to grow into the better version of herself:

I think it [athletics] really created the foundation of taking ownership of my life. Cause, by being captain, I have to take ownership of the team. So, I had to take ownership of myself, my own actions, in and outside of the team. So obviously in life. It definitely helped me to really become that strong, independent person that probably wouldn’t have come as quickly to fruition without the help of athletics and volleyball.

The COVID Identity Confusion: “If I Can’t Do Sports, I Don’t Even Know Who I Am”

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments implemented stay-at-home measures that disturbed student-athletes’ lives by generating feelings of confusion and psychological distress that had great impacts on their personal and psychosocial development. Participants shared how isolated the COVID-19 turmoil made them feel.

Playing Sports Became Like a Daydream

For all 22 student-athletes, the loss of sport participation was experienced as a shock given that it was taken for granted by most. Gina realized her love for sport once she was prevented from taking part in the one thing that made her happy and energized every day: “I think I really learned how much sports have made an impact on my life and stuff, like without having them.” She then shared how sport participation was a part of her identity and suddenly losing access to sport made her feel weird. The COVID-19 pandemic created a world in which sport was off-limits, leading to identity confusion: “I’ve played sports forever … It’s been such a weird year not having them.” John also found himself at a loss or confusion of identity, which led to experiences of psychological distress, when his busy schedule evaporated following the stay-at-home measures. All the hard work he had put in to prepare for his upcoming competitions vanished. He expressed feeling distressed and playing sports became like a daydream:

I did find, as soon as COVID started, all of the competitions just sort of evaporated. And I found, finding purpose in my day-to-day life was more difficult. Just because, normally kind of my daily excitement was “Oh, I’ve got a big competition coming up in a few weeks, I really want to make sure I work hard now so that when that competition comes, I’m really, really ready for it.” But then suddenly, there’s no more competitions.

From Busy to Bored

Involvement in sport can often fill one’s schedule by having to go to classes, practices, and after-school competitions. Through the stay-at-home measures, most student-athletes witnessed their schedule crumble, left with nothing to do. The student-athletes described this experience as an important shift in their lives, resulting in feelings of role confusion and psychological distress. Alicia talked about the after-effects of her loss of sport through the COVID turmoil: “It was hard to keep a strict schedule during COVID, even though I’m like someone who is usually busy most hours of the day. I kind of went to the opposite end, did nothing …” This lack of a schedule led some participants grieving over the loss of their everyday life structure, which had consequences. Most participants expressed how losing this structure around school and sport participation triggered a feeling similar to an identity crisis. For Kimmy, she felt she had lost the ability to manage her time and discussed how her well-being was negatively impacted by feeling at a sudden loss of energy from this loss of schedule:

COVID … there was nothing to do. I found myself at a loss of energy because I’m used to maintaining high amounts of energy all the time to meet the needs and requirements of the different things I was in. And without those, my energy just sort of depleted.

From Social Butterfly to Hermit

With the school closures, the sport cancelations, and their schedules crumbling, the participants discussed the after-effects of the stay-at-home measures from a loss of social life perspective. Maggy shared how she quickly went from socialization to isolation in an instant. She considered herself a social person, but the COVID shift made her redefine herself in a negative lens by feeling like a hermit, a very much unwanted feeling:

It’s different. Not having people around you all the time. Cause like wherever I went, there would be people at practice, school, work, just like even running out of school … You’d see people! But now I don’t. I kind of feel like a hermit now.

Maggy continued by making clear connections between her social and personal development through COVID. She shared how before practicing sports, she had trouble making friends, something that improved as she became more socially confident through sport. However, with COVID and the cancelation of sports, she lost her identity by not running with her friends:

I’m not like great at making friends and I get like, a lot of social anxiety. But with sports, I felt like I was able to make friends easier … I think [that] made me feel more confident in myself and more accomplished. And now, what’s there left for me? I was kind of known for running. So if I can’t do sports, it’s like, I don’t even know who I am.

Shattered Dreams and Bitter Realities

Feelings of embitterment can occur as a reaction to perceived injustices (Muschalla et al., 2021). When the whole world is faced with a crisis as such as the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals see themselves confronted with injustices, according to their situations. For student-athletes, having their main occupations (i.e., school and sport) suspended, moved online, or outright canceled affected them in many ways. For most, they resented the stopping of their activities, on top of the loss of their last year of high school sport competitions, the cancelation of their graduation ceremonies, end-of-year trips, etc. All participants negatively experienced the cancelation of their last year of high school sport, as detailed by Tyler: “[COVID] took away my senior season, in both sports. First, I had no coaches. And then it turned into no season at all because of tightening restrictions.” Feelings of embitterment were also associated with the loss of their last high school sport season, where not getting to finish their high school sport career as imagined challenged their sense of athletic identity. Meredith shared her embitterment, confusion, and distress about the loss of her last year of high school sport:

All the things that I loved before had been taken away from me. I think since [then], it has become really difficult … For a lot of like young athletes like me, such an important thing is taken away from them. And that’s what really sucks about COVID-19. Just that everything that you look forward to, especially in high school, making those memories with your friends and those friendships and sport and whatever, all gone.

Like Meredith, Jules felt disheartened when he realized he had lost one of the best years of his high school life. Jules felt like he lost sense of his athletic identity soon after sports were canceled, and he experienced adverse effects related to his work ethic:

There definitely were times where I was pretty upset about all the things that I’m missing out on as an athlete and just as a graduating student, a lot of social and sport stuff that I don’t get to do. I’ve lost energy during times … Yeah, times when my work ethic would just slip away … and I’d do nothing for a while.

The COVID Psychosocial Distress: COVID Heightened Anxiety. “I Kind of Had to Stay Alone With My Thoughts”

During the stay-at-home measures, most participants expressed feelings of identity confusion, stress, and anxiety, as well as fear of the disease itself. Heightened levels of psychological distress were shared by all participants, which hindered their identity refinement.

Lockdown Blues

Participants expressed how being isolated during the lockdowns had negative impacts on their psychological distress levels. The sedentary lifestyle had psychosocial consequences. Tyler expressed the impact of the pandemic on himself and his psychological well-being:

COVID definitely heightened my anxiety. It’s a pandemic … It would make anyone anxious. Being stuck at home, you kind of … the really tough lockdowns I couldn’t see anyone, except my family. And I kind of had to stay alone with my thoughts … That didn’t help much. I definitely got a lot more depressed during the lockdowns.

Alicia discussed perceived long-term consequences of the lockdowns on her mental health, where COVID made her go from the happy busy Alicia to distressed stuck-at-home Alicia:

COVID will have some long-term mental health impacts because life has changed so much and especially for someone who likes being busy like me … I don’t like spending much time in the house. So, it was definitely not good for me to sit around all day.

Isolation’s Toll

Meredith shared how losing basketball not only confused her self-identity but also heightened her distress as she lost access to her coping mechanism used to deal with stress:

[COVID] affected my mental health, because [basketball] was always something that I relied on growing up. I think that it created a place for me to just, kind of let go of all my feelings … So yeah, it was definitely, for me, a coping mechanism. Like whatever was going on, like something really crappy happened in my day, I would go play basketball and then I would feel better. So yeah, just having that taken away it really, really sucks.

Charlotte experienced symptoms of psychological distress similar to a panic attack when she realized how much her life had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Charlotte also saw herself redefined through COVID from being a positive, happy person to a distressed individual:

Usually, I consider myself a very positive person … Though, it happened over the summer … I realized I was about to miss out on one of the most important years of my sporting career because of COVID-19, and that I can’t do anything about it. I was feeling stuck at home, and suddenly I had a panic attack, like inner panic, as a result.

Learning to Dance in the COVID Rain: “Nothing Will Ever Define You Forever. I Had Sports; Now I Have to Move Past It”

Cultivating gratitude and building resilience are efficient skills that help remind oneself of how special and beautiful life can be even when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic (Fishman, 2020). Such an approach to life can help individuals develop coping strategies to manage psychological distress. It also provides new perspectives relating to one’s identity. Although mostly negative experiences were shared by participants, there was still room for hope.

Self-Discovery Amidst Isolation

Participants talked about the new things they learned about themselves during the pandemic, allowing them to refine their identity into a better, more knowledgeable version of themselves. For example, Dylan shared how he could now accomplish things on his own and that this new ability revealed itself during the pandemic. He felt like he did not have to rely on anyone anymore and discovered his will to be better; a revelation making him feel refined:

I learned that, um … I’m actually quite capable of completing things. I’m capable of doing things. And, you know, I didn’t know that about myself before. Like, I thought I was a terrible math student, but, as time went by, my marks got better! And I thought to myself, “Wow, I can actually do this!” That’s the one thing I learned about myself.

Fillip shared how being in isolation made him feel more independent. It helped him get into the things he loves doing and how that process changed him into a much calmer version of himself:

I’ve been really independent. During COVID, I’ve isolated myself and I’ve focused on myself, and I’ve gotten into things that I knew that I liked and I want to get into. By being in isolation, I thought, “It’s over, I don’t have a social life …” But what I realized is that I can really focus on myself and that really helped me become a much calmer person and I realized I don’t need that many people in my life. I learned I can be independent.

The Dance in the COVID Rain: Redefining Identity

Throughout the interviews, it became clear how the disturbances brought forth by the pandemic had important consequences for the high school student-athletes. Heightened levels of psychological distress were experienced and shared by all participants. Without access to their school and sport facilities, the participants found themselves inactive, isolated from their friends, confused by the sudden requirements to adapt to a whole new way of life, and fearful of catching the disease itself or losing a close relative. And on top of it all, for most participants, having to grieve their last year of high school sport added another layer of distress. Nevertheless, despite all these challenges, Kimmy still found her way to dance in the rain: “COVID has definitely helped me gain perspective … Nothing will ever define you forever. I had sports, now I have to move past it. Like mentally move past it.”

Discussion

The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of Canadian high school student-athletes by qualitatively exploring how the changes induced by the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures affected their self-identity and psychological distress. Results highlighted how for the participants, sport before COVID-19 was an integral part of their identity. Moreover, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancelation of sporting activities induced feelings of identity confusion and psychological distress. Nevertheless, many found a way to dance in the rain, despite the tumultuous COVID storm, through introspection and resilience.

The first theme and associated subthemes illustrated the life of high school student-athletes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants’ degree of personal connection to sport revealed how it strongly shaped their identity. According to Erikson’s (1968) theory, there are numerous benefits to forming and shaping an identity, such as (a) committing to a career path or associate with a social group, (b) developing greater self-confidence and a sense of trust, (c) increasing feelings of independence, and (d) relating to others and forming genuine relationships (Arnold, 2017). From this perspective, the subthemes illustrated participants’ athletic identity (i.e., I’m Tyler the Football Player), and how sport served as a guiding light during difficult times (i.e., Sports Help Me Overcome Difficulties and Find a Meaning to my Life). Results from the first theme are congruent with Erikson’s (1968) research on identity as well as previous studies in sport that have reported a positive relationship between sport participation and athletic identity (e.g., H. W. Marsh & Kleitman, 2003). Such results point to the crucial role high school sport programs play in the lives of adolescents and reinforce the notion that sport can provide adolescents opportunities to develop a strong self-concept (e.g., Brandl-Bredenbeck & Brettschneider, 1997). Finally, in line with Sulz et al. (2022), the present study adds credence to promoting inclusive high school sport programs shown to be associated to academic benefits, reductions in hazardous behaviors, and improvements in mental well-being (e.g., Blum, 2005).

The second theme and associated subthemes showed how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancelation of sporting activities induced feelings of identity confusion and identity crisis in many participants. According to Erikson’s (1968) theory, adolescence is about figuring out one’s identity and establishing goals and priorities for the future. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants expressed feeling overwhelmed by the sudden and drastic changes. The subthemes illustrated states of grief through the loss of sport (i.e., Playing Sports Became Like a Daydream), structure (i.e., I Haven’t Been Able to Keep a Schedule), social life (i.e., I’d Love to See My Friends Before I Graduate, Hopefully. It’s Been Lonely …), and important milestones (i.e., It’s Hard to Realize How I Missed on so Much Stuff I Could’ve Done). The results align with previous research on the sudden career termination of athletes who expressed difficulties adjusting to life after sport (e.g., Brewer et al., 1993). Many participants looked forward to their last year of high school sport, meaning that COVID-induced sport cancelations were frustrating, disrupting their self-identity. Research has shown how loss of identity was experienced by athletes when a strong sense of athletic identity was present at the time of retirement (Park et al., 2013), typically requiring long periods of time to adjust (Grove et al., 1997). Therefore, athletic transitions are likely to give rise to heightened psychosocial distress and induce major revisions of a person’s way of living when they are abrupt, unexpected, forced upon, and long-lasting, leaving little time to adjust (Parkes, 1971, 1988).

The third theme and associated subthemes documented the longer-term aftermaths of sport cancelation measures on identity confusion and psychological distress. As per Erikson’s psychosocial theory (1968), sudden changes that are attendant upon puberty disequilibrate the life balance of the individual. As adolescents are still in development, the participants were therefore not equipped, from a psychosocial skills perspective, to deal with the many disturbances that the pandemic brought (Reardon et al., 2021). For instance, they discussed how the cessation of sport led to episodes of depression (i.e., I’ve Felt Depressed During the Lockdowns), and anxiety and panic (i.e., I Lost Access to the Way I Used to Deal with Life). Moving forward, more attention should be placed on the particular mental health needs of high school student-athletes to help address their athlete-specific concerns (Grubic et al., 2021). For example, many student-athletes expressed how they relied on sport for stress management and psychosocial well-being, with the prolonged loss of sport resulting in negative mental health effects. The long-term disturbances to daily life induced by the pandemic must be considered by school and sport systems as some student-athletes may still be dealing with the after-effects of depression, anxiety, and panic induced during the pandemic (Crandall et al., 2022).

The fourth theme and associate subtheme illustrated the resilience process by which the participants had to go through to cope with the adverse effects of the pandemic. Despite the negative experiences brought forth, most participants demonstrated signs of optimism and found a way to dance in the rain through the tumultuous COVID storm. The subtheme (i.e., “I Viewed It as a Way to Sort of Refine Myself”) highlighted how the high school student-athletes had to accept and adapt to their new COVID life by redefining their sense of athletic identity. As mentioned by Erikson (1968), changes in attitude and behavior can decrease role confusion, as experienced by the participants. For example, some participants discussed how they actively sought to build on their existing strengths, discover new interests, and set new goals, all efficient strategies to help redefine one’s self-identity. Although the participants mentioned how they dealt with identity confusion mostly on their own, research with professional athletes has previously demonstrated that participation in a psycho-educational intervention focused on diversifying athletic identity helped athletes with better transitioning into retirement through increased resilience and lower psychological distress (Knights et al., 2016). Such interventions work by initiating the grieving process, developing coping skills, identifying psychosocial supports, and reviewing mental health symptoms and resources (Grove et al., 1997; Knights et al., 2016). High school student-athletes should not be left alone to deal with identity confusion. For many, the impacts were mitigated by having developed tools for enhancing their resilience, introspection, reflection and self-growth, without any outside support.

Strengths and Limitations

Methodologically, study strengths lie in recruiting French- and English-speaking participants from eight Canadian provinces, thereby gathering a diversity of experiences from student-athletes who in early 2021 were dealing with strict stay-at-home measures. Theoretically, framing the study within Erikson’s (1968) theory lent empirical support to several contextual and psychosocial factors influencing identity formation during adolescence. From a practical perspective, the study offers tangible evidence of the need for support structures for adolescents dealing with longer-term residual effects, from a self-identity and psychological distress perspective, of an abrupt end to their sport career induced by COVID-related sport cancelations.

Nonetheless, the study is not without limitations. First, the results are representative of the experiences of high school student-athletes in Canada, where stay-at-home measures and access to health services may have differed from those in other countries. Second, the one-shot interviews only provided a snapshot in time of participants’ COVID-related experiences. Additional interviews conducted as the pandemic progressed may have yielded important nuances in participants’ ongoing development of their self-identity and ongoing dealing with psychological distress. Third, limited information on participant demographics was gathered, particularly as it pertains to the lack of details on cultural background and socioeconomic status. Moving forward, such demographic markers should be collected and used to inform interpretations made of participants’ experiences, especially if we consider how individuals from equity-deserving groups were disproportionally affected by the pandemic (Sandhu et al., 2021).

Practical implications of the present study are significant for educators, coaches, parents, and policymakers who are concerned with the psychological well-being of high school student-athletes. The study suggests that the cancelation of sport activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on the identity and psychological distress of student-athletes. Therefore, the findings can be used to inform and tailor the development of strategies to support student-athletes who have experienced identity confusion and psychological distress. For example, student-athlete voices must become more prominent in terms of how to best design support structures to cope with the loss of sport as an essential part of one’s identity. Furthermore, the study offers tangible first-hand accounts of student-athletes’ lived experiences that can help researchers pay attention to adolescent athletes’ sport transition preparedness (or lack thereof). Psycho-educational interventions implemented by researchers and/or mental performance consultants could help student-athletes transition to life after sports with less mental health symptoms and increased resilience. Close cooperation should be encouraged between schools, coaches, and families because their complementary role in monitoring the mental health of student-athletes is key in supporting adolescents’ well-being (Reardon et al., 2021). Also, policymakers could develop plans designed to intentionally target the mental health and well-being of student-athletes during crises such as pandemics or other unexpected events. Finally, given the limits of the cross-sectional nature of the present study, future research could longitudinally examine the impacts of the pandemic on adolescents’ self-identity, psychological distress levels, and overall mental health as they transition to early adulthood.

Conclusion

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for all individuals, but especially for high school student-athletes who experienced school closures and sport cancelations. The results of the present study offered insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic induced feelings of identity confusion and psychological distress. As suggested by Whitley et al. (2021), re-envisioning high school sport programs to meet student-athletes endemic mental, emotional, and social needs should be a priority. Specifically, high school sport programs should be designed to recognize the ever-changing landscape of sport and be structured in manners (e.g., athlete-centered, trauma-informed) that support the needs of student-athletes experiencing identity confusion and psychological distress. Nevertheless, participants from the present study still found a way to dance in the rain, despite the tumultuous COVID storm, through introspection and resilience.

Footnotes

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the University of Ottawa Office of Research Ethics and Integrity under file number H-05-19-3982.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Camille Sabourin

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Camille Sabourin, upon reasonable request.

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Impact of COVID-19 Sport Cancelations on the Self-Identity and Psychological Distress of High School Student-Athletes

Abstract

Plain Language Summary

Keywords

Implication for Practice

Theoretical Framework

Positionality

Method

Context and Participants

Procedure

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Study Quality

Results

The Pre-COVID Identity: Athletics Create the Foundation for Taking Ownership of Life

“I’m Tyler the Football Player”

Sports as a Lifeline

The COVID Identity Confusion: “If I Can’t Do Sports, I Don’t Even Know Who I Am”

Playing Sports Became Like a Daydream

From Busy to Bored

From Social Butterfly to Hermit

Shattered Dreams and Bitter Realities

The COVID Psychosocial Distress: COVID Heightened Anxiety. “I Kind of Had to Stay Alone With My Thoughts”

Lockdown Blues

Isolation’s Toll

Learning to Dance in the COVID Rain: “Nothing Will Ever Define You Forever. I Had Sports; Now I Have to Move Past It”

Self-Discovery Amidst Isolation

The Dance in the COVID Rain: Redefining Identity

Discussion

Strengths and Limitations

Conclusion

Footnotes

Ethical Approval

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

ORCID iD

Data Availability Statement

References