625 - Transition Planning and Psychological Outcomes Among Division I Student-Athletes

Objectives: Transition out of collegiate sport is a well-documented period of psychological vulnerability. Prior work has identified distinct mental health profiles among student-athletes, but less is known about how athletes prepare for this transition across key life domains. This study aimed to describe patterns of transition planning and examine whether differences in planning behavior are associated with psychological well-being and life satisfaction among Division I student-athletes.

Design: This cross-sectional analysis included 111 Division I student-athletes. Planning behavior was assessed across four domains: career, physical health, mental health, and lifestyle. A binary planning variable categorized athletes according to transition planning status (planning for all four domains vs. planning for three or fewer). Psychological outcomes included PROMIS subscales (anxiety, depression, emotional support, physical function) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Analyses consisted of descriptive statistics and independent-sample t-tests comparing psychological outcomes between planning groups.

Results: Lifestyle (89.2%) and career (87.4%) were the most frequently planned domains, while mental health was least addressed (57.7%). Overall, 47.7% of athletes reported planning across all four domains. Former athletes demonstrated higher comprehensive planning (54.3%) compared with current athletes (43.1%). No significant associations were found between the number of domains planned and any psychological outcome. Life satisfaction scores were comparable between groups (27.15 vs. 27.09; p = 0.947). Depression scores likewise showed no difference (47.94 vs. 47.79; p = 0.925).

Conclusions: While transition planning was common, the number of domains planned was not associated with mental health or life satisfaction. These findings suggest that systematic planning within specific life domains may be more meaningful than simply striving to plan across all 4 domains. Future research should explore domain-specific planning as a more meaningful predictor of well-being during the sport-to-life transition.