Perception of Social Support in Injury Recovery and Return-to-Play Preparedness
A Pilot Study
Keywords:
mental health, rehabilitation, psychological stressors, college athletesAbstract
Psychological distress and mental health disorders have become a rising problem within the college student-athlete population. Social support may help mitigate psychological distress associated with suffering a sports-related injury and influence a successful recovery; however, little is known about the influence of social support and the sources of support throughout the injury recovery process. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate perceived social support and its influence on recovery and return-to-play preparedness following time-loss due to injury using a mixed method approach. A total of 21 NCAA Division I collegiate, previously injured, student-athletes completed a social support survey, with five agreeing to a follow-up interview. Participants reported that athletic trainers and teammates provided more social support than coaches and identified them as a key factor in their recovery. Task-appreciation support, task-challenge support, listening support, and emotional support were the most prevalent types of social support experienced across satisfaction, availability, and contribution to overall well-being. Social support varies and should be considered by athletic trainers during rehabilitation and return-to-play. Our pilot findings identify a need to further explore the influence of social support in the injury recovery process using a more expansive mixed method approach.
References
Bhujade, V. M. (2017). Depression, anxiety and academic stress among college students: A brief review. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing, 8(7), 748-751.
Bone, J. B., & Fry, M. D. (2006). The Influence of Injured Athletes' Perceptions of Social Support From ATCs on Their Beliefs About Rehabilitation. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 15(2), 156-167.
Clement, D., Arvinen-Barrow, M., & Fetty, T. (2015). Psychosocial Responses During Different Phases of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Athletic Training (Allen Press), 50(1), 95-104.
Clement, D. & Shannon, V. R. (2011). Injured athletes' perceptions about social support. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 20(4), 457-470. doi:10.1123/jsr.20.4.457
Crutcher, B., Moran, R. N., & Covassin, T. (2018). Examining the Relationship Between Social Support Satisfaction and Perceived Stress and Depression in Athletic Training Students. Athletic Training Education Journal (Allen Press Publishing Services Inc.), 13(2), 168-174. doi:10.4085/1302168
DeFreese, J. D., & Smith, A. L. (2014). Athlete Social Support, Negative Social Interactions, and Psychological Health Across a Competitive Sport Season. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 36(6), 619-630. doi:10.1123/jsep.2014-0040
Drew, B., & Matthews, J. (2019). The Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Student-Athletes and the Relationship With Resilience and Help-Seeking Behavior. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 13(3), 421-439.
IBM. (2019). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 26.0). Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55(3), 234-247. doi:10.1097/00006842-199305000-00002
Mitchell, I., Evans, L., Rees, T., & Hardy, L. (2014). Stressors, social support, and tests of the buffering hypothesis: Effects on psychological responses of injured athletes. British Journal of Health Psychology, 19(3), 486-508.
Petterson, H., & Olson, B. L. (2017). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in High School and College Athletes for Reducing Stress and Injury, and Improving Quality of Life. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 26(6), 578-587. doi:10.1123/jsr.2016-0047
Podlog, L., & Eklund, R. (2006). A Longitudinal Investigation of Competitive Athletes' Return to Sport Following Serious Injury. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 18(1), 44-68.
Rosenbaum, P. J., & Liebert, H. (2015). Reframing the conversation on college student mental health. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 29(3), 179-196.
Sudano, L. E., & Miles, C. M. (2017). Mental Health Services in NCAA Division I Athletics: A Survey of Head ATCs. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 9(3), 262-267.
Yang, J., Peek-Asa, C., Lowe, J. B., Heiden, E., & Foster, D. T. (2010). Social support patterns of collegiate athletes before and after injury. Journal of Athletic Training, 45(4), 372-379. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-45.4.372
Yang, J., Schaefer, J. T., Zhang, N., Covassin, T., Ding, K., & Heiden, E. (2014). Social support from the athletic trainer and symptoms of depression and anxiety at return to play. Journal of Athletic Training, 49(6), 773-779. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.65
