Sport as a Strategy of Resistance: A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Causes and Consequences of Medical Students’ Migration Tendencies
Keywords:
Medical Students’ Migration, Academic Burnout, Structural Insecurity, Sports-Based ResilienceAbstract
This study aimed to explain the causes, contexts, sport-based strategies, and consequences of migration tendencies among medical students and to develop a grounded conceptual model A qualitative study was conducted using Straussian grounded theory. Thirty-five medical students from Tehran University of Medical Sciences were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. Academic pressure, psychological burnout, economic constraints, and uncertain career prospects emerged as the main drivers of migration tendency. Sport functioned as a resistance strategy by facilitating emotional regulation, stress reduction, perceived control, and supportive social ties; however, under conditions of structural insecurity, its protective effects were often temporary and in some cases accompanied by increased migration inclination through social comparison. Sport enhances short-term resilience and coping among medical students, but without sustained institutional and structural support, it is insufficient to prevent long-term migration tendencies.
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