Identity disturbances and existential crises in athletes ending their careers as a substrate for the development of alcoholism and pathological gambling: a narrative review

Abstract

Background. The end of an elite sporting career is increasingly recognised not as a discrete event but as a prolonged transition during which many athletes lose a dominant athletic identity and confront fundamental questions about who they are outside sport. These identity disturbances and existential crises coincide with elevated psychological distress and with two frequently co-occurring addictions: alcohol use disorder and pathological gambling.

Aim. This narrative review synthesises evidence on how identity disturbance and existential crisis surrounding athletic retirement may function as a predisposing substrate for the development of alcoholism and pathological gambling, and it compares the mechanisms, prevalence estimates, and moderators reported across the literature.

Material and methods. A narrative review synthesised peer-reviewed conceptual analyses, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and cohort and cross-sectional studies on athletic identity, career transition, mental health, alcohol use, and gambling in athletes, retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO and interpreted qualitatively.

Results. An exclusive athletic identity consistently predicted more difficult transitions, greater distress, and slower adjustment. Former athletes showed roughly twice the population prevalence of anxiety and depression, with substance misuse concentrated in subgroups burdened by pain, injury, and weak social support. Problem gambling was repeatedly elevated in male athletes, while alcohol and opioid pathways were tied to in-career culture, sensation seeking, and post-career self-medication.

Conclusions. Identity disturbance and existential crisis appear to be plausible, partly modifiable contributors to addictive behaviour after sport, although direct longitudinal evidence remains scarce. Planned, gradual transitions, identity diversification, social-identity continuity, and proactive screening emerge as priority protective strategies.