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“If I’Ve Got God On My Side, I Can Do It”: A Phenomenological Investigation Of The Lived Experiences Of Spirituality For Lds Ncaa Di Student-Athletes, Matthew J. Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of spirituality for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI) student-athletes who also identified as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Using an existential phenomenological approach (Thomas & Pollio, 2002), nine interviews were conducted with four self-identified female and five self-identified male members of the LDS Church who were current NCAA DI athletes at the time of the study; they participated in four different DI sports (cross-country/track and field, football, soccer, and volleyball) and attended five different DI institutions. Their mean age was …

Burnout In Young Adult Performing Artists, Benjamin Hyun Stocking

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of burnout in adolescent/young adult performing arts (i.e. a World-Class junior drum & bugle corps) at the beginning of their competitive training season. Specifically, this study took particular interest in investigating the predictive influence of psychological variables such as performance anxiety, psychological coping skills, and coping functions in predicting who was more prone to burnout as well as who returned or dropped out after the competitive season.

Data were drawn from an archive of 144 drum corps performers, representing one world class drum and bugle corps at the beginning of …

“It Can Start From Anything”: An Existential Phenomenological Investigation Of Athletes’ Experiences Of Psychological Momentum, Greg Young

Doctoral Dissertations

Psychological Momentum (PM) is a commonly recognized phenomenon in sport, yet remains one of the least understood (Taylor & Demick, 1994). Previous research examined PM using archival data (Gayton & Very, 1993; Gilovich, Vallone, & Tversky, 1985; Koehler & Conley, 2003; Silva, Hardy, & Crace, 1988), hypothetical and contrived scenarios (Eisler & Spink, 1998; Miller & Weinberg, 1991; Perreault, Vallerand, Montgomery, & Provencher, 1998; Vallerand, Colavecchio, & Pelletier, 1988), and actual performance (Mack, et al., 2008). More recently, Jones and Harwood (2008) used semi-structured interviews to examine participants’ …

Heterosexism And Homonegativism In Sport: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Lesbian Athletes, Marie Elizabeth Shaw

Doctoral Dissertations

A female athlete who identifies as lesbian possesses multiple identities that exist within a heterosexist and homonegative climate. The primary objective of this research was to provide a voice to a marginalized group by describing and to understand the experiences of athletes who identify as lesbian. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 11 women who identified as athletes and lesbian. An overall thematic structure containing a ground and three figural themes, supported by participant quotations, was developed to represent the lesbian athletes’ experiences. The ground was my own process. The three figural themes that emerged were support, homophobia, and emotions. Further …