Rehabilitation from sport injury: A social support perspective

This chapter focuses on an increasingly pervasive topic within the psychology of sport injury literature, that of social support. In the chapter, we examine the existing research literature as it relates to specific conceptualisations of social support, consider key factors that influence the effectiveness of social support, and highlight developments that have contributed to some advances in our understanding that can inform the applicationof social support. We also address some of the methodological challenges associated with research in the field, highlighting some of the shortcomings of the sport injury literature to date. We conclude this chapter with some of the most important applied implications for injured athletes’ support providers and future research directions to address the conceptual and methodological limitations that permeate the empirical research.