OPTIMISM LEVELS AMONG COLLEGIATE ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between athletic participation and optimism levels. One hundred and eighty-seven first-year and final-year athletes and non-athletes from a large, comprehensive university completed a demographic questionnaire along with the Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994). Results indicated that final-year athletes scored significantly higher levels of optimism than first-year athletes, F(1,83) = 10.425, p = .0018, and final-year non-athletes, F(1,99) = 6.904, p = .0100. No significant difference was found between both first-year athletes and non-athletes and between first-year and final-year non-athletes. These results provide support that a possible relationship does exist between athletic participation, year, and optimism levels. The reasons provided for these significant differences may be due to increases in self-efficacy and mastery challenges provided by athletic participation.