Psychological Health of Injured College Athletes

Abstract

It is said that an individual’s health can be broken down into three parts: physical, social and mental. All of which work together to make up a person’s overall state of well-being. With the nature of sport today, injuries are very common amongst athletes. It is apparent that an injured athlete is affected physically because of their injury, but it does not stop there. There is ample amount of research over injured athletes; however, the majority of the research only focuses on the physiological aspect while neglecting the psychological component. This study is intended to shed light on the psychological health and emotional hardships college athletes endure during an injury. All 104 participants in this study were Division I athletes from various sports ranging in age from 18-24. Half of the participants were males and half of the participants were females. The study revealed that there are multiple factors that potentially affect an athlete’s mental state during an injury. The two main factors that were the central focus of this study were stress and anxiety. Injured athletes had significantly heightened levels of both. The results of this study can be used to see the need to pay closer attention to an athlete’s mental state during an injury instead of focusing solely on the physical aspect of injuries. Ultimately, this could help create healthier athletes and healthier individuals as a whole.