Expatriation of athletes and psychological aspects: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Athletes from sports modalities migrate throughout their career to other countries in search of different objectives, among them, to achieve better performance and social and financial status. In this sense, the objective of this study was to review the literature in relation to the psychological aspects involved in the expatriation process of athletes. For this purpose, searches were carried out in the Scielo, PubMed, SportDiscus, BVS, Embase and CAPES theses and dissertations databases, with words specific to each base, in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Studies that included performance athletes and investigated the process of international migration in sport were included and review studies and studies with students, student athletes and coaches were excluded. After careful screening, carried out by means of the bibliographic reference manager program, the EndNote® software, eight studies eligible for analysis were selected and stored using the temporal model of cultural transition. Thus, the results obtained illustrated that, among athletes, it is not a common practice to search for previous information about the host country and / or the sports context to which they will be inserted. In relation to the process of acute cultural adaptation, it became evident that the main strategy used is linked to basic psychological needs, in addition to language learning, were fundamental in promoting the feeling of belonging to culture and, consequently, the development of sociocultural adaptation. Therefore, it is concluded that investigating the psychological aspects involved in the international migration of athletes, offering the psychological preparation to face the challenges pertinent to cultural adaptation, will probably contribute to a better understanding in the choices of strategies to be used in this process, as well as can determining the success of the migration.