Deconstructing the “Athlete Mentality”: The Social & Emotional Outcomes of Sports-Related Injuries Among Collegiate Student-Athletes

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this research is to investigate the lived experiences of student-athletes and understand how long-term, short-term, major, and minor injuries affect athletes in an emotional, academic, social, and psychological sense. Previous scholars have investigated and reported on the mental health consequences that come from injuries and the differences in social support that happen when athletes are going through their recovery process. Despite all the research that exists, there is still limited research regarding mental, social, and academic aspects in relation to specific sports and gender as well. I use this study to explore the experiences of injured student-athletes at Division I and Division III colleges and report on their journeys through the recovery process of their injury.

Hypothesis: I argue that although student-athletes in Division I and Division III athletes have similar experiences in terms of social effects and emotional effects from their injury, it is important to understand that each experience is unique and must be treated on an individual basis. Scholars have previously sought to find commonalities between experiences, especially mental effects from injuries, however, student-athletes undergo and experience stressors differently, so medical professionals, coaches, trainers, and professors must provide the adequate recommendations and help to student-athletes, as they are a unique population with specific stressors.

Methods: There were two main criteria for this study. The first was the athlete must currently be competing as a varsity athlete in the NCAA organization. The second was that the athlete must have endured an injury within a year of when I began interviewing the participants. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 participants. I focus on 4 women's soccer players, 3 men's ice hockey players, 2 women's track and field runners, 2 men's track and field throwers, and 1 women’s golf player. Surveys were also distributed to 55 respondents. 26 respondents are women's soccer players, 14 respondents are men’s ice hockey, 7 individuals are track and field competitors, 2 individuals in women’s golf, and 6 respondents are football players.

Results: From the interviews, athletes reported that their overall motivation, drive, and passion (including efforts to do school work and attend school) were affected at the beginning of their injury. The social aspect saw both positive and negative outlooks when it came to the recovery process of the injury. Some athletes reported higher rates of social support from family, friends, and teammates, while others (depending on the injury and the sport they played) saw either no change in social support or less support from mostly teammates. From the surveys, student-athletes reported lower levels of overall happiness, motivation, hopefulness, control of their life, and feeling just as good as everyone else. On the other hand, athletes reported higher levels of engagement with family and friends, higher levels of loneliness, high levels of negative emotions, and high levels of disappointment during their recovery process.