USING SOCIAL IDENTITY MAPPING TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF STUDENT-ATHLETE GROUP COMPATIBILITY By Madison Alexandra Robertson A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in Kinesiology and Health Studies in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (August 2019) Copyright © Madison Robertson, 2019 Abstract Social Identity refers to the extent to which people define themselves based on the groups to which they belong (Tajfel, 1981). Despite an extensive body of literature spanning several fields of psychology, most research on social identity has involved membership with only one group. Considering that humans are a social species, often belonging to several groups concurrently, investigating implications for multiple memberships is warranted. The purpose of this study was to explore social identity compatibility in interuniversity athletes, with a specific interest in assessing associations with quality of life and academic and athletic performance. A total of 235 interuniversity athletes (57% female; Mage = 19.98 years; SD = 1.77) completed an online social identity mapping tool (oSIM; Cruwys et al., 2016), and questionnaires assessing the criterion variables. Results indicated that two mediation models were statistically significant. First, general health quality mediated the relationships between the proportion of very incompatible groups and individual perceived athletic performance. Second, a specific dimension within health quality, emotional health quality, also mediated the relationships between the proportion of very incompatible groups and perceived athletic performance. These results are discussed in terms of both their theoretical and practical implications within the thesis. However, as a generally summary, our findings suggest the importance of experiencing harmony among group memberships, and that this is particularly important in populations with overt group affiliations. Within the thesis, limitations are also acknowledged (i.e., cross-sectional research design) and suggestions are made to promote future research using the novel online oSIM tool in sport. ii Co-Authorship My supervisor, Dr. Luc Martin, is co-author for this thesis. Dr. Tegan Cruwys and Dr. Mark Bruner served as my thesis committee members and have had input during the conceptualization of the thesis and at the proposal defense. My supervisor, Dr. Luc Martin, offered guidance on study design, data collection, analysis, and provided feedback throughout the writing stages of the thesis. I (Madison Robertson) held the primary responsibility for study design, data collection, data analysis, and drafting and revising this written document. iii Acknowledgements Without the constant support and help of many individuals, this thesis would not have become a reality. I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in this project. First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Luc Martin, for his guidance throughout the completion of my Master’s degree. Your positive attitude, patience, immense knowledge, and continued support (even from Australia) allowed me to succeed as a student and researcher. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor throughout my Masters. Thank you to my proposal committee members, Mark and Tegan, for your insight, encouragement, and thoughtful advice. Thank you for not only helping with this project, but also doing it around a 14-hour time difference. I would also like to thank my defense committee members, Dr. Jean Côté, Dr. Mark Bruner, Dr. Sebastian Harenberg, and Dr. Elijah Bisung for taking time out of their busy schedules to be a part of my defence. I would like to thank all of my peers in the PLAYS research group, who supported, motivated, and helped me throughout my time as a Master’s student. Spending time with each of you never failed to put me in a good mood. Mom and Dad, your unwavering support and love throughout all of my schooling, along with every other part of my life, got me to where I am now. I am forever grateful to everything you have done for me, and there are no words to express how much you both mean to me. Mitchell, thank you for your continued support, love and letting me vent about school, even when you had no clue what I was talking about. Finally, I would like to thank everyone within interuniversity sports who were involved in this project. Coaches, athletes, and program directors – I sincerely thank you for your time. Without you this project could not have happened. iv Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................ii Co-Authorship Statement...............................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................iv List of Tables................................................................................................................................viii List of Figures.................................................................................................................................ix List of Abbreviations.......................................................................................................................x Chapter 1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2 Literature Review............................................................................................................4 2.1 Social Identity................................................................................................................4 2.2 Identifying with Several Groups ...................................................................................6 2.3 Social Identity with Student-Athletes ...........................................................................9 2.4 Study Purpose and Contextualization .........................................................................13 Chapter 3 Methods.........................................................................................................................15 3.1 Participants...................................................................................................................15 3.2 Procedures....................................................................................................................16 3.3 Measures......................................................................................................................17 3.3.1 Group compatibility......................................................................................17 3.3.2 Quality of life................................................................................................20 v 3.3.3 Self-reported performance indices................................................................20 3.4 Analysis........................................................................................................................21 3.4.1 Data screening...............................................................................................21 3.4.2 Data analysis.................................................................................................21 Chapter 4 Results...........................................................................................................................23 4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations........................................................................23 4.1.1 Group descriptive statistics...........................................................................24 4.1.2 Group compatibility......................................................................................26 4.1.3 Additional social identity dimensions...........................................................26 4.1.4 General and emotional health.......................................................................27 4.1.5 Athletic and academic performance..............................................................30 4.2 Main Analysis..............................................................................................................30 4.2.1 Mediation analysis........................................................................................30 Chapter 5 Discussion.....................................................................................................................34 5.1 Limitations...................................................................................................................42 5.2 Future Directions.........................................................................................................43 Chapter 6 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................49 6.1 Personal Reflection......................................................................................................50 Disclosure Statement.....................................................................................................................52 vi Funding..........................................................................................................................................52 References......................................................................................................................................53