Athletic identity and career engagement as predictors of mental well-being in North American professional athletes

The support of athlete career excellence in sport is a growing societal issue. For professional athletes within North America, the factors that contribute to athlete career excellence are not well understood. The current investigation examined the relationships between three athlete career excellence resources: athletic identity; career engagement; and mental well-being. Using a non-random convenience sampling strategy, 72 professional athletes currently active in the sports of baseball, football, and ice hockey in North America participated in the study. It was found that athletic identity and career engagement significantly predicted mental well-being in North American professional athletes. Furthermore, both athletic identity and career engagement added significantly to the prediction model. The current investigation supports the conceptualisation and understanding of how North American professional athletes’ career engagement and mental well-being contribute to athletes' striving for career excellence. Recommendations for further research and practical applications are considered.