The Relationship Between Positional Competition and Social Identity in Canadian University Student-Athletes

Competition for playing time (i.e. positional competition) is a commonly occurring phenomenon on interdependent sport teams. Yet the relationship between positional competition and other group dynamics in sports teams has been underexplored. One such group dynamic is social identity, which has been theoretically but not empirically linked to positional competition. The primary purpose of this study was to explore whether positional competition predicted social identity. A secondary purpose was to evaluate whether this prediction was moderated by starting status. A sample of 181 Canadian university student-athletes completed measures of positional competition and social identity. Positional competition dimensions predicted between 22% and 36% of the variance of social identity dimensions. The positional competition dimension pushed by teammates emerged as the only significant predictor of all three dimensions of social identity. The dimensions of coach recognition, self-awareness, and pushing teammates also emerged as significant positive predictors of ingroup affect. Moderation analysis revealed that, for nonstarters only, push by teammates positively predicted ingroup ties, and effort to improve positively predicted cognitive centrality. For starters only, coach recognition positively predicted ingroup ties and affect. These findings provide empirical support for the theoretical connection between positional competition and social identity. Dimensions focused on task-related perceptions of positional competition showed the most consistent positive associations with social identity, although the pattern between starters and nonstarters warrants further attention. The findings deepen our theoretical and practical understanding of how competition for playing time and social identity are linked, while highlighting future research avenues specific to status-based influences.