The effect of hypothetical injury on collective efficacy in collegiate soccer teams

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Julie H. Sutcliffe (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Renee Appaneal

Abstract: Injuries are common in collegiate sport, and most sport injury research has focused on the consequences of injuries for the individual athlete (e.g., stress, frustration, decreased confidence). Very little is known about how injury may impact the team. Recent data using actual injury and hypothetical injury scenarios show that injury impacts a team's collective efficacy (Damato et al., 2008; Edmonds et al., 2009). This research has focused on elite, primarily male samples, and has used sport-specific measures of collective efficacy making results difficult to generalize to other sport populations. The Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sports (CEQS; Short, Sullivan, & Feltz, 2005) was developed to eliminate this limitation and can be used to measure collective efficacy beliefs across sports. The purpose of this study was to examine how a team's collective efficacy might change as a result of a teammate's injury in collegiate athletes. A sample of 17 intact NCAA Division I, II, and III intercollegiate soccer teams (9 women's, 8 men's) completed the Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sports (CEQS; Short, Sullivan, & Feltz, 2005) before and after being presented with a hypothetical scenario depicting the loss of a teammate due to injury. Results of a 3-level hierarchical linear model revealed a significant main effect for time (p < .001), indicating that team perceptions of collective efficacy decreased following the hypothetical injury of a team member. These findings support initial research that consequences of sport injury extend beyond the individual athlete and may affect team function. Findings also extend existing research with adults to include collegiate athlete populations of both genders. Recognizing that injury can alter team efficacy suggests that athletes, coaches, and sports medicine staff may need to consider a broader psychosocial perspective of sport injury consequences.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2011
Keywords
Collective Efficacy, Injury, Sport, Sport Psychology, Sport Teams
Subjects
Sports injuries $x Psychological aspects
College athletes $x Psychology
College sports $x Psychological aspects

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