Social Support
🗣️

Social Support

🤕Psychology of Sport Injuries

We love to think that our minds are all-powerful and if we can just dream it, it can happen. However, our people make a huge difference. Think about a person who has decided to cut down on their sugar intake. No matter how determined and confident they are, a roommate, parent, or significant other can make that process much harder than it should be. What if the roommate keeps bringing home Little Debbie cakes? Sure, the person can stick to their goals…but it is much harder. Now, consider the opposite. What if the partner/parent/roommate decides to join the person in their quest for less sugar consumption? Now, they are coming up with Little Debbie alternatives together. That is much more powerful. The same is true during injury recovery.

Social Support Basics

Social support is an athlete’s “sense of belonging and assurance, which might help to convey...that they are not isolated in their experience of injury, and instead, have a support network available to assist them in the rehab process” ( Taylor & Taylor, 1997).

It is not the size of the support system, but the quality of the support that matters most.

Recall the Cognitive Appraisal Model; social support is a Situational Factor that impacts how we appraise an injury. The decision to utilize or not utilize social support is a Behavioral Response.

image

Effects of Social Support

  1. Buffers individuals from the effects of injury-related stress.
  2. Directly influences the outcomes of rehab (no association with stress)
  3. Individuals who perceive that they have better social support often believe that
    1. The future will be better
    2. They have the power to change things
    3. They can overcome challenges
    4. They can adapt and cope when under pressure
    5. Hopefulness, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience
‣
👈 Toggle to learn more | Additional Considerations

Using Social Support with Injuries

Three general recommendations about using social support in sport injury rehab have been proposed (Richman, et al., 1989)

  1. It should be provided by a network of individuals, not just one person; this prevents burnout of one individual.
  2. It needs to be developed and nurtured; this ensures support comes from a trusted source. If support is from the wrong type of source, it won’t be seen as helpful.
  3. It should be part of an ongoing program; this prevents social support from being part of the crisis response and is potentially unappreciated or unaccepted. Ongoing social support could be:
    1. Peer-to-Peer: paired with an athlete who went through similar injury rehab.
    2. Support group: allows them to share experiences with other injured athletes and validate their thoughts and feelings.
    3. One-on-one: meeting with a counselor or mental performance coach.
  4. Support provider’s characteristics
    1. Should be a good, active listener
    2. Should note both effort and mastery experiences
    3. Should praise success and challenges the athlete to continue achieving.
  5. Effectiveness of the support network
    1. Extend the network is able and willing to provide help
    2. Timing of the support, the injury type, and the injury severity can impact perceptions about the amount of support they need or want
  6. Social support is potentially harmful if it is inappropriately used
    1. Lack of sensitivity to the injury and its perceived severity.
    2. Lack of concern for those surrounding the injured athlete
    3. Lack of awareness about their role in providing support to the athlete.
image