The purpose of this thesis was to explore the diverse psycho-social-cultural meanings that athletes construct from their sports injury experiences. Specifically, the aims were fourfold: First, to provide a broader, more nuanced, and more holistic understanding of sports injury by exploring the meanings that athletes derive from their injury experiences. Second, this thesis aimed to broaden injured athletes’ perspectives and possibilities from injury by identifying and foregrounding multiple meanings from sports injury and by cultivating a more inclusive understanding of the diverse ways in which injured athletes may make sense of their experiences. Third, this thesis aimed to extend theoretical understanding of injury from a psycho-social-cultural perspective by extending the analytical gaze beyond the injured athlete and exploring how the broader socio-cultural contexts and influences can shape and frame athletes’ psychological experiences of injury. Finally, this thesis aimed to bridge the ongoing knowledge-practice gap by disseminating this PhD research findings in accessible formats and exploring the applied value of the research findings to athletes, coaches, and service-providers.
The thesis consists of five empirical chapters. The first study in this thesis (chapter 3) appraises, synthesises, and integrates the literature on one potential meaning from injury: Sport-Injury Related Growth (SIRG). Study two (chapter 4) builds and expands upon the scope of study one by exploring the multiple meanings elite track athletes experience from injury across the lifespan by adopting a narrative inquiry approach. Study two identified six narrative typologies of sports injury that formed the conceptual basis of this thesis: Resilience, Merry-Go-Round, Longevity, Pendulum, Snowball, and More-To-Me. Study 3 (chapter 5) extends understandings of these six sports injury narrative typologies by further theorising how elite track athletes engaged with them. Study 4 (chapter 6) enhances the accessibility and availability of these narrative findings by foregrounding the use of an arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) tool (i.e., videos) to translate and disseminate the six sports injury typologies into user friendly formats for dissemination beyond academic audiences. Finally, study five (chapter 7) evaluates the applied value of these video narratives for athletes, coaches, and practitioners.
This thesis extends the sport injury psychology literature across empirical, methodological, theoretical, and practical domains. First, by providing novel insights into a collective understanding of SIRG. Second, by identifying and foregrounding the multiple meanings elite track athletes derive from their injury experiences across the lifespan using a narrative inquiry approach. Third, by enriching theoretical understanding of how to cultivate a more inclusive and diverse sport injury narrative landscape. Fourth, by foregrounding the use of an innovative and timely ABKT tool to enhance the impact and uptake of sport injury psychology research. Finally, by generating empirical insights into the applied value of sports injury narratives in working on, for, and with athletes, coaches, and practitioners.
