At Japanese colleges and universities there are hardly any intervention programs designed for student-athletes preparing for their life after graduation. Given that student-athletes are different from non-athlete students in many ways, it is reasonable to say that it is time to start paying special attention to student-athletes at Japanese universities. Some studies support that it is essential that universities in Japan should develop career planning programs specifically designed for student-athletes. However, few universities and colleges in Japan have programs to help student-athletes in various areas during their academic and athletic careers at university or after graduation unlike universities in America.
This study investigated whether special support programs for Japanese university student-athletes are needed to help them make the transition from academic and athletic goals to career goals, and to assist them in making decisions about their career paths. The Career Decision Scale (CDS) was used to examine the career making decision of university student-athletes in Japan and investigate the differences between student-athletes and non-athlete students in career making decisions. The CDS which provides an estimate of career indecision and its antecedents, as well as an outcome measure to determine the effects of relevant interventions was used to compare the career indecision between the collegiate student-athletes and general students. The subjects were 190 college students (student-athletes: 96, non-athlete students: 94) in Japan.
The results indicated no significant differences among four factors between collegiate student-athletes and non-athlete students. Even though the large differences were not found between them, based on this survey, it implies that Japanese universities should develop an intervention program designed for student-athletes so that they can look ahead to their future after college considering the psychological difficulties they face on retirement.
