A Preliminary Exploration of the Application of Self-Compassion Within the Context of Sport Injury.
In a prospective study of collegiate athletes (N = 117), the application of self-compassion within the context of sport injury was explored. Previous literature indicated that self-compassion enhances adaptive coping and well-being and reduces anxiety in stress-provoking situations. This research suggested that it could potentially reduce the stress response and subsequent injury risk. Findings indicated that self-compassion may buffer the experience of somatic anxiety (rs = -.436, p < .01) and worry (rs = -.351, p < .01), and reduce the engagement of avoidance-focused coping strategies (rs = -.362, p < .01). There were no significant findings related to self-compassion and injury reduction. A challenge with this research is distinguishing the impact of resistance to self-compassion from the potential benefits that it may have on coping and appraisal of stress in sport. This research was a preliminary exploration of self-compassion within the context of responses to stress and subsequent injury risk. Results suggest that further investigation across different athletic populations, sports, and injury situations is warranted.
1 West Virginia University.
Zenzi
Z
Huysmans
1 West Virginia University.
Damien
D
Clement
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology*; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
appraisal; collegiate athletes; coping; injury; self-compassion; stress