Abstract
Athletic identity is an emerging field of study within sports psychology, and its impact is vital to improving the mental wellness and overall well-being of athletes before, during, and after their athletic careers. Previous research has shown that the identity of athletes and their association to being an athlete throughout their lives is extremely significant and a powerful contributor to how athletes seem themselves in the community and their adherence to sport. The stronger an athlete’s self-identification as an athlete and their embodiment to the role of an athlete within their community, showed statistical significance and improvement on their athletic performance. Furthermore, the ability to focus and channel pre-event/post-event meditation and performance flow during competition, also greatly increased their ability to perform on the field. One of the neglected areas of focus is how an athlete is mentally able to overcome an injury and how that translates into athletic identity and performance flow. The athlete’s ability to balance their physical and mental performance post injury varies greatly and the need for physicians, coaches, and trainers to treat the mental aspect of their athletes/patients is becoming more and more apparent. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how a traumatic sports injury effects an athlete’s psychological wellbeing, adherence to sport, and athletic identity.
Presenters
Christopher CastagnoStudent, MD, Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas, United States Laurel Dacus
Student, MD, Texas Tech University Paul L. Foster School of Medicine , Texas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
Sports Injury, Athletic Identity, Community, Purpose, Psychological Wellbeing, Performance, Adherence
