Iconic media moments include when Kerri Strug 1996 Olympic vault with two torn ligaments in her ankle, and Tiger Woods' win in the 2008 US Open with a torn left anterior cruciate ligament and a double stress fracture on his left tibia. Both athletes were regarded as heroes for competing while injured and particularly because they were successful in doing so. Even fourth grade athletes accept pain and injury as inevitable outcomes of playing sports, and continue to play through the pain and injury (Singer, 2004). Over conformity to the sport ethic can include behaviors such as: risking injury or prolonged illness to compete, playing through pain, inclination to avoid medical attention, or winning regardless of the physical costs (Hughes & Coakley, 1991; Miller, 2008). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between over conformity to the sport ethic and injury in adolescent athletes. Male (n = 98) and female (n = 105) athletes between the ages of 13 and 18 in Tallahassee, FL were recruited to participate in the study. Athletes provided demographic, sport and injury history data and completed the Sport Attitudes Questionnaire developed for this study. The Sport Attitudes Questionnaire measured degree of and reasons for conformity to the sport ethic. Data analysis revealed athletes who were found to be higher in sport ethic conformity reported incurring a significantly greater number of injuries at the .05 level (m = 2.02) than their peers (m = .80) who were found to be lower in sport ethic conformity. Athletes high in conformity reported engaging in sport ethic conformity behaviors because they believed athletes should be tough. Athletes low in sport ethic conformity reported engaging in sport ethic conformity behaviors because they loved their sport. Implications of these results for athletes, coaches and sport psychology practitioners are discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: March 30, 2010. / Health Damaging Behavior, Adolescent Athletes, Athletic Identity, Sport Ethic, Culture of Risk, Sport Injury / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert C. Eklund, Professor Directing Thesis; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; David W. Eccles, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_168454 |
| Contributors | Shipherd, Marguerite Amber (authoraut), Eklund, Robert C. (professor directing thesis), Tenenbaum, Gershon (committee member), Eccles, David W. (committee member), Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
Page generated in 0.002 seconds