Ab. No. 46 Impact of Sports Injury on Mental Wellbeing of University Level Athletes

Abstract

Introduction: Sports injury is an injury that occurs during athletic activities or physical exertion. Exceptional level of effort and striving for perfection close to psychological limits increases the possibility of sports injury. A sports injury can take a toll on an athlete’s emotional wellbeing. Athletes respond to injuries in very different ways, exhibiting a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. Therefore, it is crucial to understand those responses to examine the symptoms of common mental disorders and general psychological stress depending upon the severity of injury among athletes. The study aims to investigate symptoms of common mental disorders and psychological stress about the severity of injury among athletes. Methods: A total of 100 male and female athletes were selected from Punjabi University, Patiala. The study population included athletes from 18-28 years of age. All subjects were evaluated through Likert scale, Depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) and Perceived stress scale (PSS). Result: Overall, majority of athletes were experiencing symptoms of at least one of the mental-health problem assessed. Injured athletes had higher level of symptoms of anxiety, depression (r = 0.823, p = 0.00) and perceived stress (r = 0.776, p = 0.001) compared with Likert scale as analyzed via Pearson’s Correlation. Conclusion: The results indicated that athletic injury negatively impacts the mental wellbeing of athletes.