Self-presentational concern as an antecedent of athletic injury

This study was an initial investigation of the relationship between self-presentational concern and chronic injury. An experiment with two manipulations was conducted to determine how situational self-presentational concerns affected expressions of toughness that may be linked to health-damaging behaviors that cause chronic injury. Covariates of self-presentational concerns and mental toughness were measured and determined to be equivalent across groups so that effects could be attributed to the manipulations. For a manipulation of situational self-presentational concerns, collegiate middle-distance and distance runners assigned to experimental groups read a passage. The passage was based on the components of a self-presentation model, impression motivation and impression construction. It indicated the need for runners to score high on toughness questionnaires to be evaluated favorably by coaches and governing bodies of the sport in order to achieve goals. All participants completed two questionnaires pertaining to mental toughness and tough attitude toward training through pain and injury. Expressions of mental toughness related to confidence and control were higher for participants exposed to heightened levels of situational self-presentational concerns than participants lacking the exposure. For a second manipulation, participants in one of the experimental groups were additionally exposed to a prototype describing the performance of the most successful runners on the mental toughness questionnaire. Expression of mental toughness of these participants did not differ significantly from other participants, failing to provide evidence of the prototype-matching process. Participants' expression of tough attitude toward training through pain and injury did not differ in relation to exposure to either manipulation. The results support the integration of self-presentational concerns related to mental toughness as a psychological antecedent in a model linking stressful, athletic situations and chronic injury.