International Journal of Comparative Psychology

This study investigated the relationship between monetary reward and athletes’ athletic identity. The purpose was to understand the difference in athletic identity between athletes who earned monetary compensations and those who did not earn any monetary compensations for participating in sports. Two hundred and fifty-six athletes who competed in state-organized sports competitions completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). The data collected was analyzed using Mann Whitney U tests and Linear Regression at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that age did not predict athletic identity, and monetary reward did not differentiate athletes who received financial compensations or not based on their athletic identity. The results have confirmed that other factors that are not monetary may be associated with athletes’ athletic identity. Therefore sports psychologists should identify those factors to help athletes sustain their athletic personalities.