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Citation
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Kamphoff CS, Hamson-Utley JJ, Antoine B, Knutson R, Thomae J, Hoenig C. Athl. Train. Educ. J. 2010; 5(3): 109-116. |
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Abstract
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Context: Injured athletes rely on athletic trainers to assist them when recovering from injury. Over the last 20 years, the use of psychological skills to speed recovery has become increasingly popular.
OBJECTIVE: Explore athletic training students' perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of psychological skills in the rehabilitation of sport injury as well as their academic preparation in their use, and examine the differences in perceived effectiveness for those with and without formal training in the skill.
DESIGN: Survey. Setting: Athletic training students enrolled in CAATE-accredited athletic training programs. Participants: 180 athletic training students (males, n = 76; females, n = 104) from nine universities. Data Collection & Analysis: The survey included 15 questions from the Attitudes About Imagery (AAI) survey and a demographic section including questions about their educational preparation, use of, and interest in psychological skills training. Two chi-square analyses, two ANOVAs, and a MANOVA were computed to investigate differences in athletic training students' educational preparation, use of, and interest in psychological skills training.
RESULTS: While athletic training students agreed that it is important to treat the psychological aspects of injury (mean = 4.47 out of 5), only 50.6% reported that they had taken a course in sport psychology or psychological skills training. No differences in the perception of effectiveness were found between students that reported formal training in psychological skills compared to those that did not ([chi][squared][subscript 4,176] = 7.48, P = 0.11). Overall, the ratings of the effectiveness of psychological skills were positive as indicated by mean AAI scores between 4.31 to 6.17.
CONCLUSIONS: We found positive perceptions of psychological skills. However, the students' mean AAI scores were generally lower than previously surveyed athletic trainers and physical therapists. (Contains 3 tables.)
Language: en |