AJPM Focus (Aug 2024)

Goal Orientation and Desire for Approval Were Associated With Sports Injuries Among Young Japanese Athletes

  • Yukiko Kimotsuki, MSc, PHN, RN,
  • Issei Ogasawara, PhD,
  • Susumu Iwasaki, PhD,
  • Kanto Nagai, PhD, MD,
  • Kyohei Nishida, PhD, MD,
  • Noriyuki Kanzaki, PhD, MD,
  • Yuichi Hoshino, PhD, MD,
  • Takehiko Matsushita, PhD, MD,
  • Ryosuke Kuroda, PhD, MD,
  • Ryohei Uchida, PhD, MD,
  • Yasuhiro Take, PhD, MD,
  • Ken Nakata, PhD, MD

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 4
p. 100236

Abstract

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Introduction: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between psychological factors (goal orientation and desire for approval from others) and the severity of sports injuries experienced by young Japanese athletes. Methods: A total of 560 young Japanese athletes (328 males and 232 females) aged 18–24 years completed an online survey in 2022–2023. A web questionnaire was used to investigate participants’ task and ego orientations, desire for approval from others (e.g., coaches and friends/families), and history of injury. The samples were then split into 3 groups on the basis of the rest duration due to the injury: noninjury group (0 days), mild-to-moderate injury group (1–27 days), and severe injury group (>28 days). Spearman's test examined a correlation between task and ego orientation scores among all samples. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the scores between the severe injury and noninjury groups. Result: A significant positive correlation was found between task and ego orientation scores from all samples (ρ=0.27, p4 weeks to return to sports. The goal orientation profiles should be interpreted with caution. Future research should examine contextual effects such as the perceived motivational climate, in addition to the goal orientation profiles.

Keywords