Occupational adaptation in adolescent female artistic gymnasts

Abstract

Adolescence is a time period defined by much change. This change is not only limited to biological change as experienced during puberty but also environmental change as adolescents transition from primary school into high school. Adaptation is required in order to cope with this change, especially if they are to maintain successful participation in various occupations. In order to examine the level of adaptation of adolescent females aged 13 to 17 who take part in artistic gymnastics in relation to their occupational identity and occupational competence, a descriptive cross sectional analytical approach was used. Twenty-two participants completed an online self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a demographic questionnaire as well as a questionnaire based on the interview questions and rating scales in the Occupational Performance History Interview (OPHI-II) for occupational identity and occupational competence. These were analysed together in order to determine the level of occupational adaptation. Data was analysed using Statistica v13.1. The majority (63.63%) of participants were 13 years of age, competing in level 6 in artistic gymnastics (31.82%) with 81.82% having competed at National Championships. Eighty-two percent of participants had experienced injuries during their participation in gymnastics with 54.54% of their participation having been affected by these injuries. The overall occupational identity score of the participants was positive (86.36%) with older adolescents and participants in level 8-9 having the highest overall percentage scores (90.0% respectively). The overall occupational competence score of the participants was positive (80.56%) with younger adolescents and participants in level 5 having the highest overall percentage scores (81% and 82% respectively). The overall occupational adaptation score was reflected by the average of the total percentage scores for occupational identity and occupational competence combined. This score was also positive (84.60%) with younger adolescent shaving the higher overall percentage (87.63%). The only factor which showed significance (p=0.050) to occupational adaptation was the presence of injury which influenced participation. The presence of injury also showed significance (p=0.030) on occupational identity