Felt social support in sport injuries : personal and contextual predictors

Abstract

This study investigates how athletes perceive social support in the context of sports injuries, considering both situational factors, such as injury severity and type of support offered, and individual differences, such as social motives and sex. Using four sport-specific vignettes, we created scenarios involving minor or serious injuries with either requested social support (offered after asking) or unrequested support (offered without asking) from teammates. In an online survey, 129 athletes (69.76% men) with a mean age of 24.72 years ( SD = 3.62) from various team sports took part. Social motives and social support were assessed through established psychological measures. Results indicate that participants who adopted the perspective of an injured athlete felt more supported when support was offered without asking than when it offered after asking. Male athletes reported feeling especially supported in serious injury scenarios, while female athletes felt more supported by unrequested help, particularly in minor injury cases. Further, female athletes with a strong affiliation motive felt less supported when support for minor injuries was requested. These findings emphasize that felt social support in sports injuries is shaped by both contextual and individual factors.