Socio-psychological problems of highly trained athletes upon completion of sports career

Abstract

Purpose: to develop measures and scientifically grounded proposals for the effective social adaptation of highly trained athletes who are about to complete their sports career. Materials and methods: the study was conducted at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (Moscow, Russia) in the form of an interactive questionnaire. We interviewed 30 athletes who performed for the Russian national teams in the period from 2008 to 2018. Results: the problem of demand upon completion of active performance evokes anxiety in all survey participants, regardless of age, level of sports mastery and type of sport. Currently, the majority of respondents receive material support from the state. However, dissatisfaction with the amount of material support is alarming. All of the respondents found it difficult to answer what level of support they would like to receive from state bodies for the successful transition upon completion of their sports career. This indicates the lack of systemic and largescale positive examples of such opportunities for these athletes. Conclusion: based on foreign and domestic experience, as well as on the opinion surveys of athletes who perform for Russian national teams at international level, proposals were developed for the socio-psychological adaptation of highly trained athletes. These proposals are addressed both to state bodies and to the sports community in general.