Preferred Name
Kaleb Cusack
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Summer 2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
Advisor(s)
Robert Harmison
Gregg Henriques
Cara Meixner
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between the athletic trainer created motivational climate and rehabilitation adherence displayed by their athletes. Four certified athletic trainers from one National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institution participated. The study implemented a convergent mixed methods design, using the Rehabilitation Adherence Measure for Athletic Training as a quantitative measure of adherence and a semi-structured interview to establish the strategies athletic trainers use to organize the rehabilitation process, provide feedback to athletes, and evaluate rehabilitation progress. The semi-structured interview also allowed for other emerging themes during analysis. Results indicated that high-adhering athletes received more task-involving, basic need satisfying (empowering) strategies than low-adhering athletes. Additional exploration of emerging themes (i.e., outside influences, injury specifics, idiosyncrasies of the athlete) also impacted how the motivational climate was created. While the relationship indicates high-adhering athletes may be experiencing empowering motivational climates more so than low-adhering athletes, additional research must be conducted to understand the interaction of the other emergent themes in the creation of motivational climates in the sport injury rehabilitation context.
Recommended Citation
Cusack, Kaleb W., "Exploring rehabilitation adherence and the motivational climate created by athletic trainers: A mixed methods approach" (2017). Masters Theses, 2010-2019. 487.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/487
