Psychological readiness for injury recovery: evaluating psychometric properties of the IPRRS and assessing group differences in injured physically active individuals

Abstract

Objectives The primary purpose of the study was to assess the one-factor and two-factor structure of the Injury Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Scale (IPRRS) in an injured physically active population using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) procedures and assess group (ie, sex, age, injury type, athlete status) and longitudinal differences using structural equation modelling (eg, invariance testing).Methods The non-experimental study included a sample of 629 physically active individuals who suffered a musculoskeletal injury who sought treatment at an outpatient integrated sport medicine and rehabilitation therapy clinic. Participants filled out a questionnaire packet at three time points. Data analysis included a CFA and multigroup and longitudinal invariance.Results Sample mean age was 26.3 years, with females comprising 49.5%. Chronic injuries represented 29.6% of the sample and 35.0% were classified as competitive athletes. A six-item, one-factor model was confirmed in the sample with factor loadings ranging from 0.67 to 0.86. Multigroup and longitudinal invariance were established. Multigroup invariance demonstrated null differences between sex and injury type, and statistical differences between age and athlete status subgroups. Longitudinal invariance demonstrated a statistically significant increase in psychological readiness over time.Conclusions The findings support the use of the IPRRS as a tool to measure aspects of psychological readiness. Clinicians and researchers can use the IPRRS to assess interventions in future research.