Project management: Dr. Andreas Albert; Prof. Dr. Volker Scheid, Prof. Dr. Norbert Fessler, Dr. Michaela Knoll

Duration: 07/2006 to 06/2010

The starting point of the project is the D-squad studies in Baden-Württemberg and Hesse (from 1999). The project is divided into a baseline, extension and representative study, which are processed in different phases. The already completed baseline study (cross-sectional study) collected quantitative statements from N=1329 squad athletes in 25 sports. The second project phase, the extension study, took up this study group again with a repeat survey in order to obtain longitudinal data (N=408) on the D-squad system in Baden-Württemberg.
The subject of the current representative study are the participants who left the squad system prematurely. They are interviewed separately in partially standardized interviews on various aspects of their departure. Among other things, the aim is to compare the career development of "stayers" and "dropouts" in order to filter out individual and structural dropout factors. Further areas of investigation are the reasons for and processing of the dropout, retrospective and prospective views of one's own career as well as support services.