Transcontextual Development of Motivation in Sport Injury Prevention Among Elite Athletes

Abstract

The present study investigated the transcontextual process of motivation in sport injury prevention. We examined whether general causality orientation, perceived autonomy support from coaches (PAS), self-determined motivation (SD-Mtv), and basic need satisfaction in a sport context predicted SD-Mtv, beliefs, and adherence with respect to sport injury prevention. Elite athletes (N = 533) completed selfreport measures of the predictors (Week 1) and the dependent variables (Week 2). Variance-based structural equation modeling supported hypotheses: SD-Mtv in a sport context was significantly predicted by PAS and basic need satisfaction and was positively associated with SD-Mtv for sport injury prevention when controlling for general causality orientation. SD-Mtv for sport injury prevention was a significant predictor of adherence to injury-preventive behaviors and beliefs regarding safety in sport. In conclusion, the transcontextual mechanism of motivation may explain the process by which distal motivational factors in sport direct the formation of proximal motivation, beliefs, and behaviors of sport injury prevention.Keywords: self-determination theory, hierarchical model of motivation, adherence, injured athletes, injury fatality, safety violation Recent advances in sport medicine to enhance the effectiveness of sport injury prevention notwithstanding, sport injury has increased in the past 15-20 years, and still remains a major reason for premature retirement in elite athletes (Knowles et al., 2006). Many intervention strategies, such as safety education, physical conditioning, or neuromuscular training, and the assessment and reduction of environmental risk have been shown to work reasonably well in ameliorating sport injury incidence in the clinical settings (Bahr & Engebretsen, 2009;Emery & Tyreman, 2009), but their long-term benefits in the field will be largely dependent on whether the athletes and sport practitioners (e.g., coaches, physiotherapists) adopt and adhere to the necessary injury-preventive behaviors. Furthermore, research has shown that adherence 662Chan and Hagger is a serious problem when it comes to injury-preventive behavior (Chan & Hagger, 2011;Verhagen, van Stralen, & van Mechelen, 2010). However, in sport, research has been very limited in using psychological theories to investigate individuals' safety or injury-preventive behavior. A recent systematic review by McGlashan and Finch (2010) shows that only 11% of studies on sport injury prevention considered social or behavioral science theories. It is, therefore, imperative that researchers seek to identify the motivational and psychosocial factors that influence the uptake and adherence to injury-preventive behaviors. The purpose of the current study is to use self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985b) and the hierarchical model of motivation (Vallerand, 2000) to explain the transcontextual motivational processes underpinning athletes' adherence and beliefs of injury prevention. The present study is original and unique because i...

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