Athlete competitiveness, characteristics predict level of sport specialization
According to published results, athletes who display argumentative contrarian characteristics may be predisposed to lower levels of sport specialization, while athletes who enjoy competition may exhibit higher levels of specialization.
To examine the role of athlete competitiveness as a characteristic associated with the propensity to specialize in sports, Dee Warmath, PhD, and colleagues performed an online survey of 975 high school athletes in the United States. Outcome measures included previously sport-specialization categorization (low, medium or high), the Revised Competitiveness Index, which quantifies enjoyment of competition and competitive contentiousness, athlete characteristics, total sports played, level of competition and plans to play sports in college.
Overall, 22.4% of the athletes (n = 218) exhibited high levels of specialization; 34.8% (n = 339) exhibited medium levels of specialization; and 42.9% (n = 418) exhibited low levels of specialization. Researchers found athletes who planned to play a sport in college were “significantly more likely” to have a high level of specialization. They also noted athletes who enjoyed competition were more likely to have high specialization levels, while athletes who displayed competitive contentiousness and argumentative contrarian personality traits were associated with lower levels of specialization.
“Viewed through the lens of these findings, sport specialization appears to be the outcome of desirable characteristics, such as sportsmanship, cooperation and self-esteem,” the researchers wrote in the study. “This view is consistent with findings regarding the importance of intrinsic or autonomous reasons for specializing, as well as early studies of specialization. However, it stands in contrast with studies highlighting the negative outcomes of specialization,” they added.
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