The Social Context of Injury and the Psycho-Social Effect of Injury in Female Athletes

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorMacpherson, Alison
dc.creatorScolnik, Michal
dc.date.accessioned2015-08-28T14:55:57Z
dc.date.available2015-08-28T14:55:57Z
dc.date.copyright2014-09-15
dc.date.issued2015-08-28
dc.date.updated2015-08-28T14:55:57Z
dc.degree.disciplineKinesiology & Health Science
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMSc - Master of Science
dc.description.abstractBackground: Social support from within the culture of sport helps female athletes to develop confidence on and off the playing field. As female athletes become more involved in the culture of sport they further develop their athletic identity until it becomes the most important facet of their identity. When injury disrupts that identity it is extremely distressful, and athletes, having invested so much time and effort on sports, are forced to reconcile their injured bodies with the image they have of themselves as strong able-bodied athletes. Throughout recovery participants reassess identity and form a new understanding of body and self. Purpose: This study focused on the social context within which injury occurred and the experience of injury for female athletes to increase our understanding of both the circumstances that led to injury and the effects of injury on athletes’ lives. Methodology: The data for this study was co-constructed in two focus groups and one interview through the lens of the social constructivism paradigm. Nvivo software was used for coding the transcripts, and to develop the emerging themes. Issues such as time away from sport, well-being, sense of self, academic achievement, social relationships, employment and secondary injury prevention were explored. Analysis: Prior to injury the development of an athletic identity, as well as social supports obtained through that identity, constituted the social context shaping respondents’ understanding of pain and injury. Once injured, women’s athletic identity influenced their decision to delay seeking help and play with pain. Injury caused athletes to re-evaluate their identity not only as sports people but also as women, altering their perception of their own bodies and femininity. During recovery the athletic identity and its attendant social supports affected how participants reacted to injury, influencing decisions to return to play earlier than recommended and shaping their lived experience. Discussion: This study found that injury not only challenged the athletic identity, but also the feminine identity. In addition, receiving sport specific support was highlighted as a major concern for injured athletes. Previous studies have revealed similar findings showing that the culture of sport and the athletic identity developed by elite athletes influences them to accept pain as part of the price of high-level competition and pressurizing them to play while injured. Normalization of pain has led researchers to label the culture of sport a ‘culture of risk’. Nevertheless, the social support derived from trying to maintain the athletic identity was still perceived as having a positive affect on the rehabilitation process. Conclusion: Injury challenged the athletic and feminine identities’ of injured athletes, and sport specific social support was extremely influential on athletes’ experience of injury and recory. The social context that shaped the athletic identity provided female athletes with a beneficial support network, but at the same time projected the expectations of the culture of sport such as playing with pain and injury. Their identity was inextricably tied to the culture of sport so that, in addition to feeling pressured to play with pain, injury threatened their entire identity. Social support derived from participants athletic identity was perceived as a positive influence during their recovery from injury but, on occasion, pressured them to return to play sooner than recommended.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/29891
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectKinesiology
dc.subject.keywordsAthletic injury
dc.subject.keywordsSports injury
dc.subject.keywordsFemale athletes
dc.subject.keywordsWomen and sport
dc.subject.keywordsSocial support and injury
dc.subject.keywordsSocial context of injury
dc.subject.keywordsEffect of injury
dc.subject.keywordsPsychological effect of injury
dc.subject.keywordsSocial effect of injury
dc.subject.keywordsRecovery process
dc.titleThe Social Context of Injury and the Psycho-Social Effect of Injury in Female Athletes
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Scolnik_Michal_2014_Masters.pdf
Size:
1.16 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.83 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
YorkU_ETDlicense.txt
Size:
3.38 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

Kinesiology & Health Science

All items in the YorkSpace institutional repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved except where explicitly noted.