Author(s): CHAN, C., Institution: NATIONAL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY , Country: TAIWAN, Abstract-ID: 351

Exploring the Motivational Process of Career Decision-Making among Collegiate Student-Athletes from a Nonattachment Perspective
CHAN, C. C.
NATIONAL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY
Introduction
Collegiate student-athletes occupy dual roles as students and athletes. While coping with academic and athletic demands, they often display passive attitudes toward career development, resulting in greater difficulty and stress in career decision-making than non-athlete students. Previous research has identified insufficient motivation for career development tasks as a critical factor underlying such difficulties. To better understand the motivational mechanisms of career decision-making among collegiate student-athletes, this study adopts self-determination theory (SDT) as its primary framework and incorporates the concept of nonattachment.
Methods
A questionnaire survey was conducted. After providing informed consent, participants completed measures of nonattachment, basic psychological need satisfaction, self-determined motivation, and career decision-making. A total of 450 collegiate student-athletes participated, with 385 valid questionnaires included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to test the hypothesized model.
Results
Results indicated that the proposed model demonstrated acceptable fit. Nonattachment, basic psychological need satisfaction, and self-determined motivation were all positively associated with career decision-making. Nonattachment also exerted indirect effects on career decision-making through basic psychological need satisfaction and self-determined motivation. Among the variables, basic psychological need satisfaction emerged as the strongest predictor of career decision-making.
Discussion
These findings underscore the importance of satisfying basic psychological needs in facilitating career decision-making. From an SDT perspective, fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness enhances motivation to engage in career-related activities and promotes proactive career decision-making behaviors. Self-determined motivation was positively related to career decision-making, indicating that when collegiate student-athletes perceive their behaviors as self-endorsed, they are more likely to engage actively in the decision-making process. Additionally, nonattachment was positively associated with career decision-making, suggesting that psychological flexibility and reduced fixation on specific outcomes may alleviate stress and support more adaptive and authentic career choices. Mediation analyses further showed that basic psychological need satisfaction mediated the relationship between nonattachment and career decision-making, while self-determined motivation mediated the relationship between need satisfaction and career decision-making. Overall, fostering nonattachment and supporting basic psychological needs may enhance self-determined motivation and promote effective career decision-making among collegiate student-athletes.