Fear Avoidance and Readiness to Return to Sport after Injury in Division I Collegiate Soccer Players

Abstract

This study examined fear avoidance and psychological readiness to play, in Division I collegiate men and women soccer players at Virginia Tech, to uncover how injury affects mental readiness. Contributing factors that play a role in a successful and speedy rehabilitation process need to be identified to help student-athletes receive the tools that they need to return to their peak performance. Although there is a plethora of research both in the United States and internationally investigating fear avoidance and psychological readiness to return to sport, there is limited research studying both phenomena simultaneously in collegiate athletes. A total of 13 men and 24 women soccer players completed the Athlete Fear Avoidance Questionnaire (AFAQ) and the Injury Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Scale (IPRRS). Results from the study indicated that there is a significant negative correlation between fear avoidance and readiness to play, that female soccer players scored significantly higher than the male soccer players on the AFAQ, that male soccer players scored significantly lower on the AFAQ than the female players for those players that had sustained an injury for greater than six weeks, and that those players that sustained injuries greater than six weeks scored significantly lower on the IPRRS, with male soccer players scoring significantly higher than female soccer players if injured less than six weeks. Therefore, sports medicine professionals involved in athletes’ rehabilitation process should incorporate interventions to help diminish fear avoidance and increase psychological readiness to play, while also considering mental differences between male and female soccer players.