A Social-Cultural and Embodied Exploration of Sport Injury and Disordered Eating

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the sociocultural and embodied meanings that athletes construct from their sport injury and disordered eating experiences. By integrating two previously isolated bodies of research – sport injury and disordered eating – a broader and more nuanced understanding of athletes’ experiences of these challenges could be explored. The aims of this programme of research were fourfold: First, to understand distance runners’ experiences of sport injury and disordered eating across their athletic careers. Second, to extend theoretical understandings of injury and disordered eating by exploring how the broader sociocultural contexts and embodied experiences can shape athletes’ experiences of injury and disordered eating. Third, to continue to bridge the persistent knowledge-to-practice gap within sport psychology by not only translating and disseminating research findings in an accessible and engaging format but also exploring the applied value of the research findings to athletes, coaches, and practitioners. Lastly, to critically engage in and demonstrate ongoing reflexivity throughout the research process, highlighting the emotional and ethical complexities of conducting sensitive qualitative research on injury and disordered eating. These aims were achieved across four empirical studies. The first study integrated the fields of the psychology of sport injury and disordered eating in sport by adopting a narrative inquiry approach to explore the sociocultural and embodied experiences of distance runners across their athletic careers. Five creative non-fiction stories were crafted and formed the conceptual basis of this thesis: Is it good for me? I knew I’d gone too far, maybe it wasn’t too late for me? Is this what normal feels like? and I love food too much. The second study extends our understanding of these stories by further exploring how the original participants engaged with them. The participants became witnesses of their own stories, which in turn revealed how the stories had worked on, for, and with them. The third study explored the applied value of stories and how they could be used to bridge disciplinary boundaries. In the final study I reflect on my experiences of conducting sensitive qualitative research throughout this thesis. I utilised the genre of a confessional tale in the form of poetry to reflect on the ethical and methodological challenges I encountered throughout the research process. Taken together, this thesis concludes by revisiting the overall aims and considering how this programme of research extends sport psychology literature across empirical, methodological, and practical domains. Empirically, the studies advance our understanding by integrating the fields of sport injury and disordered eating, thereby offering a more holistic, sociocultural, and embodied account of athlete experiences. Methodologically, this thesis embraces multiple forms of representation (e.g., creative non-fiction, poetry) that extends sport psychology literature. Practically, this thesis demonstrates how storytelling can bridge the knowledge-to-practice gap, fostering multi- and interdisciplinary collaboration. The thesis closes with future avenues of research that warrant further attention and my concluding thoughts.