ABSTRACT
Athletes are unique and complex individuals training and competing under varied conditions and circumstances. Because of this, an idiographic approach towards understanding psychological response to sport injuries advantages consideration of the many personal and situational factors that interact to influence athlete cognitions, affects and behaviours over the course of injury onset, rehabilitation and return to play. The purpose of this chapter is to use the integrated model of psychological response to the sport injury and rehabilitation process (Wiese-Bjornstal, Smith, Shaffer, & Morrey, 1998) as a conceptual framework guiding the a review of research evidence concerning these personal and situational factors, their interactions and their effects on psychological response to sport injuries. Examples of personal factors influencing psychological response to sport injury include personality, gender and disordered eating, while examples of situational factors include time in season, coach pressures and the motivational climate in the rehabilitation context. An examination of research on these factors reveals that there is no one universal or predictable set of psychological responses to sport injuries. The chapter concludes by suggesting areas of conversation between athletes' sport, psychological and medical professionals in order to understand and accommodate those responses during rehabilitation and return to play.
