Felt Social Support in Sport Injuries - Personal and Contextual Predictors

This study examines how the perception of strong social support in sports injuries varies depending on the context of sports and individual differences (social motives, biological sex). Using four sport-specific vignettes, we created scenarios involving minor or serious injuries with either requested social support (offered after asking) or unrequested support (offered without asking) from teammates. In an online-survey, 129 athletes (69.76% men) with a mean age of 24.72 years (SD = 3.62) from various team sports took part. Social motives were assessed using the Picture Story Exercise, and felt social support was measured with the Berlin Social Support Scale. Results show that participants who were asked to put themselves in the shoes of an athlete with a sports injury described in the vignette, felt more supported when support was offered without asking than with asking. Male athletes reported feeling especially supported in serious injury scenarios, while female athletes felt more supported by unrequested help, particularly in minor injury cases. Further, female athletes with a strong affiliation motive felt less supported when support for minor injuries was requested. These findings emphasize that felt social support in sports injuries is shaped by both contextual and individual factors.