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The purpose of this investigation was to assess athletes' perceptions of social support provided by their head coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers, pre-injury and during rehabilitation. Data were collected on who provides each of six types of support, how satisfied the athletes are with the amount and type of support they received, and the perceived effect of support on their well being. Thirty-five male and female Division l collegiate athletes from various sports completed a modified version of the Social Support Survey (Richman, Rosenfeld, & Hardy, 1993). Results indicated a significant difference between the athletes' satisfaction with the three types of providers and their impact on the athletes' overall well being during rehabilitation. Athletic trainers were perceived to provide more support than either the head coaches or assistant coaches. Findings confirm the positive effects of athletic trainers ' social support on injured athletes' recovery efforts, and the possible positive impact additional coaching support may provide. Implications of the results for interactions between coaches and injured athletes are discussed
As many as 17 million sport injuries occur each year among American athletes (Heil, 1993): as many as 8 out of 10 athletes are injured at some point during their high school and college careers (Henderson & Carrol, 1993). Given the positive effects social support can have on the consequences of injury and other stressors (Ganster & Victor, 1988; Hardy & Crace, 1993; Hardy, Richman, & Rosenfeld, 1991; Wiese & Weiss, 1987), social support, especially from those with whom the athletes work closely, should serve as a means for responding to the psychosocial needs of injured athletes. Few studies, however, have focused on the use of social support to help injured athletes, although it has been studied as it relates to team dynamics, improving athletic performance, and overall satisfaction among athletes (Garland & Barry, 1990; Rosenfeld & Richman, 1997; Weiss & Friedrichs, 1986).
Athletic injury causes a great deal of stress to athletes (Heil, 1993; teddy, Lambert, & Ogles, 1994; McDonald & Hardy, 1990). For example, injured athletes tend to experience tension, confusion, hostility, loneliness, fear, irritability, and anxiety (teddy et al., 1994; Macchi & Crossman, 1996; Udry, Gould, Bridges, & Beck, 1997). They also tend to feel isolated and estranged from their teams and...