Abstract: Previous research on athlete retirement in China has often focused on non-psychological factors and treated athlete retirement as an incident. Based on the theoretical process of athlete retirement, this study is designed to explore retirement awareness, for which athletes are divided into different groups based on the duration of their involvement with athletics, and also to examine the psychological state of athletes and retired athletes.
Our survey on retirement awareness covered 789 athletes (540 athletes and 249 retired athletes); it included questions pertaining to athlete identity and preparation for retirement and a questionnaire on their psychological states, including their satisfaction with life, the appraisal of personal relationships, self-evaluation, social support, the anxiety of life, and loneliness. Quantitative analyses were conducted on these variables using a MANOVA and a correlation analysis.
The results of the MANOVA showed that retired athletes reported a lower level of life anxiety and more loneliness than non-retired athletes; athletes who had been retired for one-year reported less social support as compared with other retired athletes. Further, athletes who had intentions to retire reported a lower level of athlete identity, a higher level of preparation for retirement, and higher negative psychological state than those who did not intend to retire. The correlation analyses showed a significant negative relationship between age and athlete identity (r = –0.14, p < 0.01), a significant positive relationship between age and preparation for retirement (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), a significant positive relationship between the training duration and preparation for retirement (r = 0.16, p < 0.01), and a significant negative relationship between the training duration and social support (r = –0.18, p < 0.01).
The findings of this study provide quantitative psychological data pertaining to athlete retirement in China and suggest that retirement counseling and social support are useful to athletes when they intend to retire

Key words: athlete retirement, retirement awareness, athlete identity, psychological state