Preparation for Sports Retirement: Study Protocol

NCT07303504 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: USAL sports retirement
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 26
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: This article presents the protocol for a randomised controlled trial designed to develop and evaluate a psychoeducational intervention aimed at preparing high-performance athletes for the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to retirement from sport. The protocol was developed through a literature review and consultations with experts in sports psychology and career transition. Methods: The study will be conducted at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Salamanca (Spain). High-performance athletes aged 30 or older who are close to retirement or who have retired in the last five years will be recruited. Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups: the intervention group, which will undergo a psychoeducational programme consisting of 12 sessions over 3 months; and the control group, which will receive a minimum educational programme of one session. All participants will complete initial and final assessments, as well as a 3-month follow-up, collecting sociodemographic data and applying various psychological, social and health assessment instruments. Discussion: This protocol describes a comprehensive psychoeducational intervention aimed at improving quality of life and attitudes towards retirement from sport, increasing life satisfaction, psychological flexibility, perceived social support, general health, self-efficacy and self-regulation, and reducing negative stereotypes associated with the end of a sporting career. The evidence generated will guide future interventions, policies, and educational programmes to promote a healthy, active, and satisfying transition to the post-sport stage.

Conditions

Sport Retirement; Psychoeducation; Retirement; Adaptation; Psychosocial Factors; Psychology

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• World Health Organization Quality of Life Measure - Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF)

  Quality of life. The range of scores is from 26 to 100 points. The higher the score, the better the quality of life.

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Retirement Attitudes Scale (EAJ)

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• Questionnaire of Stereotypes towards Old Age (CENVE)

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• The acceptance and action questionnaire-II (AAQ-II)

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

• MOS Questionnaire of Perceived Social Support (MOS)

  Baseline; up to 24 weeks; 3 months follow up

Study Arms (2)

Education Programme

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Why: Participants will receive instructions and recommendations to facilitate a positive and healthy transition following retirement from elite sport. This minimally active intervention focuses on general guidelines for maintaining an active lifestyle and adapting to post-sport life, ensuring that the control group receives basic informational support without the structured psychoeducational sessions of the experimental group, which allows for an adequate comparison of effects. What (materials): Instructions and recommendations dossier for the program. What (procedures): Participants will be provided with a dossier containing instructions and recommendations to support the transition to sports retirement. Who will carry out the interventions: A qualified professional with experience in retirement processes will carry out the intervention. The team rotates among three professionals (psychologists specializing in retirement adjustment and a lawyer for legal aspects).

Behavioral: Education Programme

Psychoeducational Programme

EXPERIMENTAL

Why: The program aims to facilitate a positive and healthy transition from elite sport to retirement. Its objectives include improving Quality of Life, Life Satisfaction, Psychological Flexibility, Perceived Social Support, Health, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Regulation, while simultaneously mitigating stereotypes associated with aging and the end of the sports career. What (materials): All sessions will require materials such as: projector, computer, screen, presentation of content, stationery, chairs, tables and self-recording of home tasks. What (procedures): The program combines structured education with psychoeducational activities to: Understand the retirement process and its expectations; analyze the psychosocial impact of retirement; promote physical and mental health; provide training in financial planning and benefits management; support adaptation to role changes and foster social participation; facilitate the definition and monitoring of personal goals.

Behavioral: Psychoeducational Programme

Interventions

Psychoeducational Programme BEHAVIORAL

The program aims to facilitate a positive and healthy transition from elite sport to retirement. Its objectives include improving Quality of Life, Life Satisfaction, Psychological Flexibility, Perceived Social Support, Health, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Regulation, while simultaneously mitigating stereotypes associated with aging and the end of the sports career.

Psychoeducational Programme

Education Programme BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive instructions and recommendations to facilitate a positive and healthy transition following retirement from elite sport. This minimally active intervention focuses on general guidelines for maintaining an active lifestyle and adapting to post-sport life, ensuring that the control group receives basic informational support without the structured psychoeducational sessions of the experimental group, which allows for an adequate comparison of effects.

Education Programme

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants will be included if they are within the critical transition period, defined as:
• Five years prior to sports retirement, when the first signs of preparation and emotional anticipation begin.
• Five years after retirement, the stage in which identity, psychological, and professional adaptation processes are consolidated.
• This interval reflects the progressive nature of adaptation to sports retirement.

You may not qualify if:

• Athletes presenting any of the following conditions will be excluded from the study:
• Significant literacy difficulties or relevant deficits in linguistic comprehension that prevent adequate participation in the psychoeducational sessions or the completion of assessment instruments.
• Severe unstabilized medical or psychological conditions that may interfere with the normal development of the program (e.g., untreated severe depressive episodes, limiting neurological disorders).
• Refusal to sign the informed consent or lack of availability to regularly attend the program sessions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Salamanca: lead

Study Sites (1)

Castilla y León, Salamanca, Salamanca 37005

Salamanca, 37005, Spain

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The work of sequencing, randomisation, recruitment and allocation of the trial sample will be carried out by research staff who are not involved in the assessments or interventions of each group, thus avoiding any potential bias in the trial. Participants will also be blinded and will not know which group they have been allocated to and therefore which intervention they will receive. In order to minimise any contamination between groups, the assessment process will be carried out by external research staff who will perform the measurements and who have been previously trained and educated to avoid subjective bias in the process, as they will be unaware of the intervention group to which they have been assigned, thus masking the blinded assessment by third parties in the clinical trial. In addition, the researchers responsible for the statistical analysis of the trial will be blinded in order to increase the rigour of the trial process and thus the scientific quality.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 10, 2025
• First Posted: December 26, 2025
• Study Start: February 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Last Updated: December 31, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Data will be available at the end of the study.
• Access Criteria: Open access for researchers.

Locations

ES (1)