Mood states and perceived physical states as short term predictors of sport injuries: Two prospective studies

Abstract

The present contribution discusses mood states and perceived physical states as elements of the process of sport injury development. The two conducted studies are based on a theoretical model, which sees psychological and psycho‐physiological states as the consequence of situational appraisals that depend on perceived tasks and psycho‐physiological situational loads. In this model, states affect both cognitive and motor functions, and thus, lead to injury‐related behavior.

Both studies have prospective designs. Psychical states (mood and state of motivation) and perceived physical states were measured by the use of adjective lists at the beginning of a one‐day (Study I) or a three‐day (Study II) period. Physicians and physiotherapists measured the frequency and severity of injuries. Stepwise logistic regression models were computed with regard to injury variance; depending on the injury criterion, 28% (Study I) and 1–5% (Study II) of injury variance could be explained. Besides some inconsistent results, perceived physical health and sociability were significant predictors in both studies, insofar as a high injury rate is accompanied by low perceived health and high sociability. The results are discussed, taking into consideration the closeness of body perception to reality and the influence of sociability on prevention behavior. Furthermore, from a methodological point of view, the predictability of injuries is discussed regarding the time lag between the assessment of states and the incidence of injury.

Keywords:

• injury
• prediction
• mood state
• model development
• strait‐trait interaction
• prospective study.