Relationship between behaviour patterns, coping and sports injuries

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between Type A and Type B behaviour patterns and sports injury. A secondary purpose was to investigate the relationship between behaviour patterns and coping styles of injured athletes. Male athletes (N = 85) who competed in competitive and recreational soccer leagues completed the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) to determine their behaviour pattern type. Those athletes who sustained an injury throughout the season (n = 17) completed the Coping with Health and Injury Problems (CHIP) scale to determine their coping strategy. Results showed no significant differences between JAS scale scores of injured and non-injured groups. However, a correlation was found between JAS Hard-driving/Competitive (H/C) sub-scale with Distraction Coping, r = .579 (p = .05). This finding revealed that individuals with high scores on the JAS H/C subscale were more inclined to cope through distraction methods such as concentrating on alternate tasks they wish to accomplish.