Perceived health of former Division I women’s college soccer players
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Shannon J. Cross (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Diane Gill
Abstract: Prior sport-related injury and the long-term physical and psycho-social consequences associated with injury may contribute to declines in physical activity (PA) and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of former collegiate athletes (Cowee & Simon, 2019; Filbay, et al., 2013; Russell, et al., 2017; Simon, et al., 2019). Given that women’s soccer has some of the highest rates of injury in collegiate sports, the purpose of this study was to assess the current perceived health of former Division I women’s soccer players and to determine what role prior injury plays in their current health outcomes. A web-based survey assessing physical (PS) and mental (MS) dimensions of HRQoL and disablement and self-reported PA was administered to former Division I women’s soccer players (n = 382). Participants ranged in age from 22-59 (Mage = 36.41, SD = 7.76). About two-thirds (68.3%) of the total sample reported suffering a severe injury during their soccer career, with knee (42.9%) and ankle (23%) injuries being the most common. Those with a history of previous severe injury had significantly (p < .01) lower HRQoL-PS (M =16.47) and higher levels of disablement-PS (M = 13.77) compared to those who did not report a severe injury (MHRQoL-PS = 17.03, MDPA-PS = 8.86). There was no significant difference in PA between the injured and non-injured group; however, lower HRQoL-PS (r = .303), lower HRQoL-MS (r = .197) and higher levels of physical (r = -.152) and mental (r = -.148) disablement were associated with less PA. Physical disablement was inversely correlated with HRQoL-PS (r = -.640) and HRQoL-MS (r = -.305). Findings suggest there is a possibility of continued long-term consequences to sports injury for some athletes long past retirement from sport. Continued research is needed to help former athletes manage these challenges and to find ways to minimize potential long-term consequences from injury with current athletes.
Perceived health of former Division I women’s college soccer players
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Created on 8/1/2020
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2020
- Keywords
- Athletes, Disablement, HRQoL, Injury, Physical Activity, Soccer
- Subjects
- Women college athletes $x Health and hygiene
- Women soccer players $x Health and hygiene
- Soccer injuries $x Health aspects
- Quality of life $x Health aspects