Social Identity, Mental Toughness, and Behavioural Intentions as Antecedents of Overuse Injury Pain in Physical Activity Contexts

Abstract

Psychological factors specific to overuse injury pain in physical activity contexts were explored within a social identity theoretical framework. Study 1 involved development of a method for designating overuse injury pain occurrence of hikers (N = 751), along with exploration of relationships between psychological measures, overuse injury pain occurrence, and effort levels. The findings of this cross-sectional, mixed-methods investigation revealed that social identification, social identity content, and mental toughness differentiated hikers who incurred overuse injury pain or selected a higher-effort behaviour from those who did not. From qualitative analysis, several social identity constructs (i.e., group member’s presence, in-group status, social creativity, additional social identity content) emerged as contributors to overuse injury occurrence. The focus of Study 2 was a prospective examination of the aforementioned psychological factors in relation to overuse injury severity of hikers (N = 283). Additionally, the Test of Intentions to Reduce Effort (TIRE) was developed to identify individuals with susceptibility to higher overuse injury severity. Results provided evidence of factorial, construct, and predictive validity of TIRE factor scores. TIRE factors and social identity content significantly predicted higher severity of hikers’ overuse injury pain. Mental toughness scores moderated the relationship between social identification and overuse injury severity. Study 3 consisted of a qualitative examination of social identity mechanisms of overuse injury pain in a physical activity context, CrossFit®, involving the presence of group leaders, and in which group members view each other. Findings revealed mechanisms pertaining to social identity content, in-group status, and social threats. Overall, the findings support a new means for assessing overuse injury occurrence and susceptibility to higher overuse injury severity, whilst demonstrating the potential applicability of social identity theory to the study of overuse injury. Knowledge gained may ultimately aid development of interventions to reduce overuse injury occurrence and severity of physical activity participants.