Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Degree
Master of Science in Athletic Training
Department
Kinesiology
Committee Chair
Tona Hetzler
Abstract
Research has shown that the risk of athletic injury increases with increased psychological stress and that social support can help reduce risk of injury. Collegiate athletic trainers spend a considerable amount of time with and build unique relationships with the athletes on whom they work with. However, no research is available on specific factors that cause an athlete to turn to an athletic trainer for social support. An electronic survey was developed and sent to 938 local collegiate athletes to determine if, how, and why student athletes utilize athletic trainers for social support. The results from this study found that the more satisfied student athletes are with the level of social support provided by an athletic trainer, the more likely they are to confide in one (No injury prime: b=0.79, t(31)=7.20, p=< 0.001; Injury prime: b=0,96, t(26)=7.00, p=< 0.001). Further research is needed to look at what specific psychosocial problems lead athletes to seek athletic trainers for social support, what specific characteristics an athlete looks for in an athletic trainer to feel comfortable seeking social support, and what athletic trainers can do to make athletes feel more comfortable confiding in them for social support.
Keywords
trait anxiety, mental health, psychosocial problems, athletic injury, stress response
Subject Categories
Sports Sciences
Copyright
© Elizabeth Anne Gelhaus
Recommended Citation
Gelhaus, Elizabeth Anne, "Student Athletes And Factors That Determine Their Social Support Circle" (2016). MSU Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 1904.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1904
