Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

Reader 1

Jose Arreola

Reader 2

Lahnna Catalino

Abstract

This study aims to look at how the negative psychological impacts associated with hazing, like performance anxiety and depression, impact athletic performance in varsity college athletes. The two hypotheses tested in this study are examined through a quantitative longitudinal research design. Participants will be Claremont Colleges varsity student-athletes, recruited through athletic department emails, social media, and the snowball method. Participants will be provided informed consent, asked to define hazing, whether they have participated in healthy team initiation practices or hazing activities, and then asked to complete a series of survey questions. Participants will be asked to retake some of the surveys periodically throughout the study. The study found that those who partook in negative team initiation were not only just more likely to have worse individual performances, but that this interaction is mediated by performance anxiety and depression. The results from this study aim to help inform student-athletes, athletic departments, and institutions around the world of not only the physical or psychological impact associated with hazing, but also the impact it has on athletic performance.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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