Investigations were carried out in regard to the relationship between an athlete's identity orientation and career decision making behavior. An athlete's identity orientation was defined operationally as a psychological orientation of self definition through the sports experience. That is ego orientation which is oriented to the internal environment or social orientation which is oriented to the external environment. In study 1, an athlete's identity orientation scale, occupational identity status scale and occupational decision making process scale were established. The occupational decision making process scale is used to examine the type of occupational decision making process during one's college years. Also, Melgosa's occupational identity status scale, based on the work of Marcia,was translated into Japanese and utilized for this study. This scale examines the degrees of achievement, moratorium, forclosure and diffusion which are four types of identity status. In study 2,561 male college athletes were rated using these scales. Considering the Z scores of each athlete's identity orientation subscales (ego and social scales), subjects rated to 4 groups (high in both subscales: ES, high in ego scale: Es, high in social scale: eS, low in both subscales es) were selected. Then the occupational identity status and occupational decision process were compared among the 4 groups. The ego scale dominant groups (ES and Es) were high in achievement score, and many subjects in these groups were rated as settlement type with active exploration in career decision making. The subjects in none of marked (es) or not dominant in ego scale groups showed passive and ambiguous career decision making. According to these results, it can be considered that athelete's identity orientation reflects the process of career desicion making. Subjects in ego subscale dominant groups are actively involved in it.
