The future-oriented hopes and goals of adolescent student-athletes in Finnish sport high schools

This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details. Author(s): Title: Year: Version: Copyright: Rights: Rights url: Please cite the original version: In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en The future-oriented hopes and goals of adolescent student-athletes in Finnish sport high schools © 2023 Taylor & Francis Accepted version (Final draft) Sääksi, Pauliina; Saarinen, Milla; Aunola, Kaisa; Korpela, Mika; Ryba, Tatiana V. Sääksi, P., Saarinen, M., Aunola, K., Korpela, M., & Ryba, T. V. (2023). The future-oriented hopes and goals of adolescent student-athletes in Finnish sport high schools. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Early online. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2255610 2023 1 The Future-Oriented Hopes and Goals of Adolescent Student-Athletes in Finnish Sport High Schools Pauliina Sääksia, Milla Saarinenb, Kaisa Aunolaa*, Mika Korpelad, and Tatiana V. Rybaa,c aDepartment of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; bNorwegian Research Centre for Child and Youth Sport, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway; cMethodology Center for Human Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; dSport Academy of Turku Region, Turku, Finland. Pauliina Sääksi. E-mail: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-74392455 Milla Saarinen, Norwegian Research Centre for Child and Youth Sport, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, E-mail: [email protected] https://orcid.org/00000003-1378-3588 Kaisa Aunola, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä. E-mail: [email protected] *corresponding author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8866-6736 Mika Korpela, Sport Academy of Turku Region. E-mail: [email protected] Tatiana V. Ryba, Department of Psychology, Methodology Center for Human Sciences, University of Jyväskylä. E-mail: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-00023218-4938 This work was supported by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture under Grant to Tatiana V. Ryba [number OKM/13/626/2015 and OKM/39/626/2017]. 2 The Future-Oriented Hopes and Goals of Adolescent Student-Athletes in Finnish Sport High Schools Abstract As most young athletes do not end up making a living in sport, and professional athletic careers are relatively short, adolescent athletes need to think about and plan their future outside of sport. The present longitudinal study examined the future-oriented hopes and goals of adolescent student-athletes in Finland at the beginning and end of sport high school. Gender differences in these hopes and goals were also examined. The sample consisted of 381 student-athletes (51% females, 49% males) in the autumn of the first year of high school and 351 student-athletes (50% females, 50% males) in the spring of the third year, who filled in a questionnaire at both measurement points. A total of 11 goal categories consisting of 49 subcategories were identified using directed content analysis. Changes across time and gender differences in these hopes and goals were examined using the “N-1” chi-squared test. The results showed that sport-related hopes and goals were the most common at both measurement points. However, only 51% and 27% of the participants mentioned dual careers in their goals for the future at the beginning and end of high school, respectively. The female participants reported statistically significantly more goals related to education and a dual career and statistically significantly fewer goals related to sport than males. Further, male participants reported statistically significantly more often not knowing their future hopes and goals than females. Keywords: future orientation, hopes and goals, dual career, sports high school, gender 3 The Future-Oriented Hopes and Goals of Adolescent Student-Athletes in Finnish Sport High Schools The integration of sport with education or work has been termed a dual career in European sport psychology discourse. In modern, economically developed countries, such as in Finland, adolescent athletes need to safeguard their future employability and adaption to life after athletic retirement and are therefore expected to combine their academic and athletic aspirations (European Commission, 2012). The successful integration of both careers can help athletes achieve their hopes and goals in both spheres of life in a way that is sustainable for their health, well-being, and life satisfaction (Stambulova & Wylleman, 2019). However, the successful combination of these two domains is likely to be a major source of concern during the adolescent years, due to the overlap of multiple life transitions and the intensification of demands in both sport and school (Ryba et al., 2016; Knight et al., 2018). Indeed, due to these challenges, athletes may be at risk of early termination of their athletic and academic careers. Given that the exploration of the future is crucial in terms of sustainable dual career construction, there is a need to better understand student-athletes’ future-oriented hopes and goals across sport high schools to facilitate their meaningful dual career (dis)continuation (Ryba 5 et al., 2017; Ronkainen & Ryba, 2018). In the present study, future-oriented hopes and goals are studied among Finnish sport high school studentathletes. According to the Finnish Olympic Committee, a dual career pathway is a cherished value in Finland, and there is a strong effort to enable athletes to balance competitive sports with school or work (Finnish Olympic Committee, 2023). This issue is likely to be of particular concern during the high school years since they coincide with the crucial transition from junior to senior levels in most sports in Finland. 4 Future-Oriented Hopes and Goals Young people’s hopes and goals are related to their future orientations. As a term, future orientation refers to the process of considering, imagining, and planning for the future (Sica et al., 2016). Future orientation provides grounds for exploring options, planning, setting goals, and making commitments. Understanding this among adolescents is especially important because how adolescents think about their future can crucially influence their later lives, as the decisions made during adolescence can enhance or restrict one’s future options (Nurmi, 1991). Studies have shown that young athletes who spend a considerable amount of time in sport-related activities may compromise the time needed to explore other career and identity options outside of sport. This may be problematic considering that most young athletes do not end up making a living in sport (Brewer & Petitpas, 2017; Park et al., 2013), and it is extremely difficult to find work without proper education or any work experience. Cultural norms, social expectations, rules, values, family, peers, and role models influence hopes and goals (Nurmi, 2004). Future orientation develops in cultural and institutional contexts, which consist of demands and standards set by social and institutional sources. For example, in Finnish context, where the present study was carried out, values include equality, democracy, freedom and non-discrimination (Brunila & Ylöstalo, 2015). Cultural norms and social expectations provide individuals with knowledge about their possibilities and the desired age-specific goals in that particular environment. For example, developmental tasks consist of normative expectations to achieve a certain goal at a certain age and to provide models for how they should be achieved (Havighurst, 1948; Nurmi, 1987). Changes in future-oriented goals are likely to happen during adolescence and emerging adulthood, as age-related developmental tasks and life contexts change quickly (Nurmi, 1991) and individuals 5 gain more life experience. When facing challenges in goal attainment, individuals can either develop coping mechanisms or reconstruct their goals. In earlier studies conducted in Finland that explored future-oriented hopes and goals (e.g., Nurmi, 1987),questionnaires have been used to ask people about the hopes, fears, and expectations they have for their future. The answers were typically classified according to the topic of their content. The content categories used differ from one study to another. In the vast majority of studies concerning the future hopes and goals of adolescents, the most frequently mentioned topics are occupation and education (Fonseca et al., 2019; Massey et al., 2008; Nurmi, 1991; Ranta et al., 2014; Seginer, 2009). Similar results have been found across cultures (e.g., Nurmi, 1991). Consequently, the most mentioned categories are family, marriage, leisure activities, and financial well-being (Fonseca et al., 2019; Nurmi, 1987, 1991; Nurmi et al., 1994; Seginer, 2009). Research findings suggest that adolescents with goals related to agespecific developmental tasks and demands experience higher well-being compared to those with goals inconsistent with age-related challenges (Marttinen et al., 2016). Although a few previous studies have specifically examined the future orientation and aspirations of young athletes (Mortensen et al., 2013; Ronkainen & Ryba, 2018; Ryba et al., 2017), a clear limitation in the earlier research is the scarcity of longitudinal studies examining how hopes and goals develop across time (as an exception, see Ryba et al., 2021). Such investigations are important because they can help to better understand how adolescent athletes construct their career pathways as they mature, and this information can be used to facilitate effective career interventions. The Role of Gender in Hopes and Goals Cultural and social expectations concerning life span development vary considerably according to gender (Fivush, 2010; Skrubbeltrang, 2020), and narratives of gender, 6 gender stereotypes, and hierarchies influence future-oriented thinking, hopes, and goals by providing information and models of the possibilities and limitations. Although policies and practices, such as the Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (European Commission, 2012) and the European Commission’s statement on gender equality in sport (European Commission, 2014), emphasise the importance of gender equality, this aim is often not realised. Indeed, recent studies have found that whereas male athletes typically invest more in sport-related goals and pursue professional careers in sport, female athletes are more like to invest in education and to drop out of sport (Ekengren et al., 2020; Ryba et al., 2021; Ronkainen et al., 2016). Due to gender hierarchies that position men as the norm in sport, female athletes also face extra demands, challenges, and constraints (Saarinen et al., 2023; Kavoura et al., 2015, 2018), are underrepresented in professional sporting programs and executive and coaching positions, and receive less financial support from official committees and ministries in Finland (Turpeinen et al., 2012). Cultural narratives support men’s professional careers in sport, whereas for women, elite sport is not seen as an existing career path (Ryba et al., 2021). In a study conducted by Skrubbeltrang et al. (2020) in Denmark, only 2% of female 12–15-yearold student-athletes representing both individual and team sports reported wanting to pursue a professional career in sport. These expectations and stereotypes are reproduced in daily life in social interaction, for example, through identity construction, model learning (Kavoura et al., 2015), and coach-athlete interactions (Saarinen et al., 2023). Gender differences in future orientations and goals are also anchored in the cultural context in which the individual lives. Although Finland is regarded as an egalitarian country and ranks high in gender equality reports, some differences remain in the opportunities available to men and women (Brunila & Ylöstalo, 2015; Humbert et al., 7 2015), especially regarding professional sport. For example, opportunities for developing a professional sporting career vary considerably between genders, as only 1.6% of professional athletes in Finland are women (Lämsä, 2018). Consequently, the aim of the present study was to explore the future-oriented hopes and goals of Finnish adolescent student-athletes at the beginning and end of sport high school. In addition, gender differences in these hopes and goals were examined. Methods Philosophical underpinnings The present study is positioned within the philosophical realm of critical realism, subscribing to ontological realism and subjectivist epistemology (Ryba et al., 2022; Ronkainen & Wiltshire, 2021). Critical realism assumes that the world is how it is, regardless of the constructions and interpretations that people use to view it (Archer, 2007), which is important for obtaining objective measures of a fixed reality, such as athletes’ future-oriented hopes and goals, at certain time points. Similarly, epistemological constructivism is important for understanding individuals’ subjective experiences and employs a transactional developmental framework that views psychological experience as ongoing, inseparable from the sociocultural context, such as sport high schools, and arising out of a particular history (Ryba et al., 2016). In the context of this study, this means that although athletes’ hopes and goals are unique, they do not exist outside of a particular social and cultural context. Participants and Procedure The present study was conducted as a part of the Winning in the Long Run research project (Ryba et al., 2016) following talented adolescent student-athletes from the 8 beginning to the end of sport high school in Finland. Currently, there are 15 upper secondary schools in Finland that are dedicated sport schools, according to the Ministry of Education and Culture. These schools collaborate with sport federations and athletic clubs to arrange morning practices for the athletes, offer the possibility of extending the 3-year academic curriculum, give study credits for sport, and assist with dual career planning. The admission to these sport high schools is competitive, and to be accepted, the adolescent athletes must demonstrate strong potential in their sport and have sufficient grades in their secondary school reports. The first measurement point (T1) was in the autumn of the first grade of high school. At T1, the sample consisted of 381 student-athletes (51% female and 49% male) enrolled in six different sport high schools. The mean age of the participants was 16 years (SD = 0.17), and the participants were divided evenly between individual (50%) and team sport (50%). The participants’ grade point average (possible range from 4 to 10) was 8.85 (SD = 0.62). The second measurement point (T2) was in the spring of the third grade of high school. At T2, the sample consisted of 351 student-athletes (56% female and 44% male). From the missing data at T2, part (n = 15) was due to the fact that participants filled in the survey but did not answer the particular question concerning hopes and goals, part (n = 15) was due to the drop-out of the participants between the time points. Reasons behind of drop-out might include, for example, the absence of students from school on the day of the study, or graduation or transferring to a different school between the T1 and T2. The participants were enrolled from seven different sport high schools, as one new school joined the research project at the end of the first grade. At both measurement points, the participants filled out an online questionnaire containing an open-ended question about future goals. 15 al., 2019; Nurmi, 1991). In the current study, these equate with the family, lifestyle, fun, and wealth subcategories, which fall into the categories of relationships, lifestyle, and self-actualisation. In line with these previous studies, self-actualisation goals were reported frequently in the current study (9.4%). However, goals related to relationships and lifestyle were not reported as often, which can be explained by the fact that the student-athletes participating in the present study were quite young, and having a family might not be relevant for them yet. Contradictory to earlier research conducted in Finland (e.g., Nurmi, 1991) showing that goals related to identity exploration, friends, and becoming more independent are important for adolescents, the results of the present study showed that only a few had considered these. This suggests that adolescent student-athletes are highly committed to training and athletic goals and have developed a strong athletic identity, leaving no time to explore other options outside of sport (Houle et al., 2010). Similarly, Stambulova et al. (2015) found that as time restrictions increase, social life is the first life domain student-athletes in Swedish sport high schools compromise, only then education and finally sport. The second aim of the study was to determine the kinds of future-oriented hopes and goals that adolescent student-athletes in Finland have at the end of sport high school. Changes in hopes and goals are likely to happen as students transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood and gain more life experiences (Nurmi, 2004; Schwartz et al., 2014). In this study, the overall number of goals decreased by the end of high school. In particular, the number of goals related to general and unspecific subcategories showed a statistically significant decrease. Interestingly, the number of sport-related goals decreased statistically significantly by 20%. This can reflect the emerging transition to higher education, or it can be due to goal reconstruction. Goals 16 are reconstructed when facing challenges in goal attainment (Nurmi, 2004). Combining elite-level sport and high school is a demanding and new kind of challenge for the students, as most of them may not have experienced dual careers on this level of demand before. Young athletes have been shown to have little awareness of the complexity of athletic talent development and all related factors (Mortensen et al., 2013). The students may have had very optimistic and broad goals at the beginning of high school, which are likely to change after gaining experience in their new life situations. Similarly, some of the student-athletes also withdrew from sport during their years in high school. Indeed, earlier studies have shown that 13% of student-athletes terminate their athletic careers during sport high school years in Finland (Sorkkila et al., 2019).The adjusted and reconstructed goals are likely to be more realistic and defined. The results of the current study showed a similar development. As people tend to reconstruct their goals to match age-related developmental tasks and role transitions (Nurmi, 2004), emerging adults continuing to develop their identity could be expected to report goals especially related to work, love, and worldview (Schwartz et al., 2014). As expected, the number of goals related to profession/work statistically significantly increased across the stages of high school (the increase being 4%). Further, the number of goals related to higher education and being accepted to a degree program increased. Such goals may be perceived as ways of obtaining a profession/work in the future and can be explained by the emerging transition to higher education. Applying for higher education is common in Finland. For example, in 2020, 84% of high school students applied for higher education after graduation from high school (Official Statistics of Finland, 2021). The number of goals related to relationships statistically significantly increased across the stages of high 17 school as well (the increase being 2%). However, no changes were evident in the number of goals related to beliefs and values. The number of goals related to self-actualisation increased statistically significantly by 6% from the beginning to the end of high school. This may be related to the simultaneous decrease in sport-related goals and retirement from sport. After retirement from competitive sport, the students have more free time, and goals related to self-actualisation and leisure activities start to take the place of sport-related goals. In addition, not knowing one’s future hopes or goals increased significantly from T1 to T2. On the one hand, this result may reflect the goal reconstruction process (Nurmi, 2004). For example, when a student with a strong athletic identity chooses to retire from sport, it can take some time for them to explore their other future possibilities and construct new goals. On the other hand, it may simply reflect identity exploration during late adolescence and emerging adulthood (Schwartz et al., 2014), or perhaps the result of the length of the questionnaire used. The results showed that only 51% of the participants at T1 and 27% of the participants at T2 mentioned dual careers in their answers, proportions that may be considered high or low, depending on the perspective. The categories included in dual careers were mentioned more often than any other categories. However, as all of the participants were studying in sport high schools at both time points meaning that they were pursuing a dual career, it was surprising that many of them (e.g., 73% of the participants at the end of high school) did not mention a dual career in their hopes and goals for the future. In addition, sport and school/work but not combined was the single most common dual-career subcategory mentioned at both time points. This may have been influenced by a variety of factors. First, fewer goals overall were reported at T2 than at T1, and the number of sport-related goals decreased significantly, which, in turn, 18 became visible in the number of responses mentioning dual careers. Second, some students may have found the dual career pathway to be too demanding after gaining more experience since the beginning of high school (Nurmi, 1991), and therefore reconstructed their goals (Nurmi, 2004). Third, around T2, the student-athletes were approaching the transition from upper secondary school to higher education. In Finland, there are currently no dual career programmes in place to help support the continuation of dual career pathways through higher education (Nikander et al., 2021). Knowledge of this may have had a negative impact on how the student-athletes perceived their possibilities of combining sport and education in the future. The third aim of the present study was to examine gender differences in the future-oriented hopes and goals of student-athletes in Finnish sport high schools. In line with previous research findings (Skrubbeltrang, 2020; Ryba et al., 2021), the male participants reported statistically significantly more sport-related goals than the females did (the difference being 11%), especially the related goals of becoming an elite or professional athlete. Only 4% of the female participants in the current study reported wanting to become an elite/professional athlete. This finding is in line with previous research findings suggesting that female athletes are less likely to pursue professional athletic careers than their male counterparts (e.g., Ekengren et al., 2020). Aligned with earlier research suggesting that female athletes are more focused on their education than their male counterparts (e.g., Ryba et al., 2021), the results showed that female studentathletes reported statistically significantly more goals related to education (5%) than male student-athletes. Although earlier Finnish research (e.g., Nurmi, 1991) has found males to be more focused on wealth and work and females more interested in marriage, family, and taking care of domestic chores, no differences were evident in the number 19 of goals related to these categories in the current study. This may be due to the fairly equalitarian culture in Finland. The results of the present study showed that the male student-athletes reported not knowing their future hopes and goals statistically significantly more often (2%) than the females, and the female student-athletes mentioned dual careers statistically significantly more often (11%) than the males, especially sport and school/work but not combined (9%). These findings are in line with previous Finnish research suggesting that male athletes are more relaxed about their career aspirations and are likely to focus exclusively on their athletic careers, whereas female athletes experience cultural and societal pressure to invest in a dual career (Saarinen et al., 2023; Ryba et al., 2021). As many structural inequalities limit women’s ability to develop professional athletic careers (Turpeinen et al., 2012), it is important to develop and provide female athletes with more options for constructing dual or professional athletic careers. However, as most young athletes do not end up making a living in sport regardless of their gender, it is crucial to find ways to make secondary and higher education more appealing to all young athletes. Limitations and Future Research The present study had some limitations that should be taken into account before generalising the results. First, the sample consisted of Finnish athletes from white middle-class families, which limits the generalisability of the results across cultures. Second, some of the participants dropped out of sport high school during the study period, indicating that the sample at T2 represented student-athletes who were particularly committed to pursuing a dual career pathway. Third, the questionnaire used to assess athletes’ hopes and goals was open-ended, meaning that participants were able to provide very short answers if they wanted to. This may, for example, be one of the 20 reasons why so few participants mentioned dual careers in their future hopes and goals. Future studies should attempt to use questionnaires with additional clarifying questions to assess athletes’ future hopes and goals. Fourth, the researchers’ own thoughts and beliefs might have impacted the research process (O’Connor & Joffe, 2020). This possibility was taken into account by assessing intercoder reliability and avoiding making assumptions while coding the answers. For example, if the student answered hoping to have a long career in football and become the best, the answer was divided into two separate goals, and “to be the best” would be coded into the subcategory of general success, as it does not specifically mention football or sport. Therefore, it is possible that some of the goals have been coded into different subcategories than the students meant. This would result in fewer hopes and goals related to sport, education, profession/work, and dual careers. In future research, it would be important to use multiple methods to gather information about the hopes and goals, for example, by interviewing the participants in addition to using a questionnaire or by including multiple questions in the questionnaire itself. This would produce further information about the future orientation of adolescent student-athletes and insights for supporting successful dual-career pathways. It would also be interesting to examine gendered patterns in the construction of hopes and goals across time (Ryba et al., 2021). As the student-athletes reported many goals outside of sport and some did not report any sport-related goals at all, it would be interesting to examine the extent to which all student-athletes are interested in competitive sport or whether there are some among them who are not that invested in sport, despite studying in a specialised sport high school. Additionally, further qualitative research is needed to gain a better understanding of the factors behind why so many of the student-athletes did not mention a dual career in their hopes and goals for the future. A better 21 understanding of this could help better support the well-being and sustainable dualcareer pathways of young athletes beyond high school. In addition, further research in different cultures is needed, as values and goals are culturally constituted (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Conclusions The present study provides an important theoretical and empirical contribution to the existing literature on young people’s future orientation by longitudinally examining student-athletes’ hopes and goals and gender differences in these goals. Similar to the previous research findings on adolescents’ hopes and goals, goals related to both their occupations and education were the most common among student-athletes (e.g., Fonseca et al., 2019; Nurmi, 1991). The results of the current study showed that the future-oriented hopes and goals of student-athletes in Finnish sport high schools mostly coincide with age-specific developmental tasks of adolescence at the beginning of high school and emerging adulthood at the end of high school. The differences between genders were relatively small but echoed the findings of other studies on the future orientation of young athletes suggesting that female student-athletes are more focused on their education and report wanting to pursue a professional athletic career statistically significantly less than their male counterparts (Ryba et al., 2021). A surprising finding was that only half of these athletes mentioned dual careers in their future goals at the beginning of high school, and the percentage dropped even further to 27% by the end of high school. Further research on the factors behind this finding could be 22 expected to provide deeper insights into how to support young athletes’ successful and sustainable dual-career construction beyond high school. Acknowledgements The manuscript is based on the first author’s master’s thesis supervised by the third and last authors. We thank all the student-athletes who participated in this research and also thank Dr. Noora J. Ronkainen for her help with the coding and data analysis, Dr. Harri Selänne for his help with the data collection, and research assistant Sanna Niemi for helping with the coding and statistical analysis. Disclosure Statement Conflict of interest: None Data Availability Statement Data available from the last author upon a reasonable request. References Archer, M. (2007). The ontological status of subjectivity: The missing link between structure and agency. In C. Lawson, J. Latsism & N. Martins, (Eds.), Contributions to social ontology (pp. 17–31). Routledge. Brewer, B. W., & Petitpas, A. J. (2017). Athletic identity foreclosure. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16, 118–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.05.004 Brunila, K., & Ylöstalo, H. (2015). Challenging gender inequalities in education and in working life – A mission possible? Journal of Education and Work, 28(5), 443– 460. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2013.806788 Campbell, I. (2007). 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Urheiluuran yhdistäminen koulutukseen: Kaksoisuraympäristöt ja urheilulukioiden 31 Having a plan B 0.13 0.00 0.13 0.91 0.34 Continuing sport 1.29 2.00 0.71 1.16 0.28 Good career in sport 0.77 1.00 0.23 0.22 0.64 Profession/work 14.16 18.31 4.15 4.68 0.03 Good job/profession 10.68 13.73 3.05 3.21 0.07 Well-paid profession 1.16 0.72 0.44 0.76 0.38 Finding a good profession 1.54 2.43 0.89 1.52 0.22 Success in work 0.77 1.43 0.66 1.50 0.22 Education 23.29 20.89 2.40 1.23 0.27 Finishing high school 3.22 1.43 1.79 5.09 0.02 Graduating to a certain profession 2.57 1.86 0.71 0.85 0.36 Higher education 3.47 7.44 3.97 11.45 <0.01 Success in studies 10.68 2.58 8.10 37.84 <0.01 Growth/development as a student 0.26 0.14 0.12 0.26 0.61 Acceptance to a degree program 3.09 7.44 4.35 14.24 <0.01 Dual careers 51.18 27.35 23.83 43.26 < 0.01 Sport and school/work but not combined 46.19 25.36 20.83 34.27 <0.01 Combining sport and school/work 3.94 1.42 2.52 4.36 0.04 Dual careers prioritising school/work 0.26 0.28 0.02 < 0.01 0.96 Dual careers prioritising sport 0.79 0.28 0.51 0.88 0.35 Self-actualisation 9.40 15.02 5.62 10.95 < 0.01 32 Being successful 3.99 3.29 0.70 0.51 0.47 Fun 0.77 2.43 1.66 6.61 0.01 Meaning 0.13 0.00 0.13 0.91 0.34 Wealth 0.90 2.15 1.25 3.91 0.05 Growth/development as a person 2.19 1.43 0.76 1.18 0.28 Happiness 1.16 3.15 1.99 7.08 <0.01 Good life 0.13 1.57 1.44 9.47 <0.01 Independence 0.13 1.00 0.87 5.16 0.02 Health 1.42 2.72 1.30 3.12 0.08 Relationships 3.09 5.58 2.49 5.58 0.02 Family 2.46 4.01 1.55 2.86 0.09 Relationships 0.64 1.57 0.93 2.98 0.08 Lifestyle 1.67 3.29 1.62 4.06 0.04 Beliefs & Values 0.64 0.43 0.21 0.30 0.58 Helping others 0.13 0.14 0.01 < 0.01 0.96 Valuing self and others 0.13 0.00 0.13 0.91 0.34 Home 0.26 0.14 0.12 0.26 0.61 Belief in God 0.13 0.14 0.01 < 0.01 0.96 Do not know 1.54 5.15 3.61 15.24 <0.01 Other 2.19 6.01 3.82 13.98 <0.01 Note. T1 = Time 1; T2 = Time 2. 33 Table 3. Comparison of Proportions of Hopes and Goals Reported by Female and Male Participants. Category and subcategory Comparison of proportions Female % Male % Difference % chisquared p Sport 8.65 39.63 10.98 19.34 < 0.01 Becoming an elite/professional athlete 4.11 11.54 7.43 29.63 <0.01 International level success 1.14 1.51 0.37 0.38 0.54 Participating in international level competitions 2.51 3.18 0.67 0.59 0.44 National level success 0.23 0.84 0.61 2.78 0.10 Participating in national level competitions 0.68 1.34 0.66 1.65 0.20 Youth international level success 0.11 0.17 0.06 0.10 0.76 Participating in youth international level competitions 0.23 0.50 0.27 0.77 0.38 Getting an athletic scholarship 0.11 0.00 0.11 - - General or ambiguous success in sport 13.58 13.88 0.30 0.03 0.87 Growth/development in sport 2.40 3.51 1.11 1.58 0.21 Enjoying sport 0.11 0.00 0.11 0.66 0.42 Being injury free 0.46 0.67 0.21 0.29 0.59 Choice about specialisation 0.23 0.00 0.23 - - Having good facilities 0.00 0.17 0.17 - - 34 Having a plan B 0.00 0.17 0.17 - - Continuing sport 1.94 1.17 0.77 1.32 0.25 Good career in sport 0.80 1.00 0.20 0.16 0.69 Profession/work 16.89 15.05 1.84 0.89 0.35 Good job/profession 12.67 11.37 1.30 0.56 0.45 Well-paid profession 0.68 1.34 0.66 1.65 0.20 Finding a good profession 2.51 1.17 1.34 3.31 0.07 Success in work 1.03 1.17 0.14 0.07 0.80 Education 24.09 19.23 4.86 4.87 0.03 Finishing high school 2.17 2.68 0.51 0.40 0.53 Graduating to a certain profession 2.63 1.67 0.96 1.49 0.22 Higher education 5.94 4.52 1.42 1.41 0.23 Success in studies 7.76 5.52 2.24 2.79 0.09 Growth/development as a student 0.00 0.50 0.5 - - Acceptance to a degree program 5.59 4.35 1.24 1.13 0.29 Dual careers 44.64 33.92 10.72 8.72 < 0.01 Sport and school/work but not combined 40.31 31.27 9.04 6.43 0.01 Combining sport and school/work 3.57 1.77 1.80 2.21 0.14 Dual careers prioritising school/work 0.51 0.00 0.51 - - Dual careers prioritising sport 0.26 0.88 0.62 1.28 0.26 Self-actualisation 12.79 11.04 1.75 1.02 0.31 35 Being successful 2.97 4.68 1.71 2.94 0.09 Fun 1.71 1.34 0.37 0.32 0.57 Meaning 0.11 0.00 0.11 - - Wealth 1.14 2.01 0.87 1.83 0.18 Growth/development as a person 2.28 1.17 1.11 2.44 0.12 Happiness 3.20 0.50 2.7 12.57 <0.01 Good life 0.57 1.17 0.60 1.59 0.21 Independence 0.80 0.17 0.63 2.60 0.11 Health 2.28 1.67 0.61 0.66 0.42 Relationships 4.68 3.68 1.00 0.87 0.35 Family 3.54 2.68 0.86 0.85 0.36 Relationships 1.14 1.00 0.14 0.07 0.80 Lifestyle 2.97 1.67 1.30 2.52 0.11 Beliefs & Values 0.57 0.50 0.07 0.03 0.86 Helping others 0.23 0.00 0.23 - - Valuing self and others 0.00 0.17 0.17 1.49 0.22 Home 0.34 0.00 0.34 - - Belief in God 0.00 0.33 0.33 2.89 0.09 Do not know 2.40 4.52 2.12 5.06 0.03 Other 4.68 3.01 1.67 2.58 0.11 Note. A statistical analysis was not carried out if the frequency of answers by either gender was less than 1.