Project Manuscript Final

Running head: RESILIENCE IN ATHLETES FOLLOWINGINJURY 1
Psychology of Sport & Exercise
A Qualitative Study of Psychological Resilience in Athletes Following Injury.
Asher Phythian
Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Clifton Campus
NG11 8NS

RESILIENCE IN ATHLETES FOLLOWINGINJURY 2
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the resilient qualities that facilitated successful
injury recovery using qualitative methods. Six previously injured athletes were interviewed
regarding their sporting injury. Inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used
to explore the transcripts for key themes. Seven higher order themes arose (i.e. being
motivated, experience of previous adversities, having support systems, using faith, being
confident, being positive, and being focussed) that acted as protective factors in the injury
process, facilitating a successful return. These findings offer support for Fletcher and Sarkar’s
(2012) work of Olympic champions and add to these findings in relation to sports injury. The
results are discussed and future research and applied implications are offered.
Keywords: Psychological resilience, sports injury, successful return, qualitative, semi-
structure interviews.

A Qualitative Study of Psychological Resilience in Athletes Following Injury.
Athletes who participate in competitive sport will inevitably experience a number of
stressors and adversities throughout their careers (Mellalieu, Neil, Hanton, & Fletcher, 2009:
Tamminen, Holt, & Neely, 2013) and being able to respond positively to these various
adverse situations is essential for any athlete to achieve success. One of the more prominent
adversities faced by athletes is injury, with empirical evidence indicating that injury is a
stressful experience that challenges athletes’ resources (Evans, Wadey, Hanton, & Mitchell,
2012; Podlog & Eklund, 2006; Wadey, Evans, Evans, & Mitchell, 2011). Research over the
past few decades has looked at how psychological characteristics play a role in helping elite
athletes adapt to adversities on their path to excellence (MacNamara, Button, & Collins,
2010); this influence of psychological factors on athletes’ ability to withstand stress is
generally conceptualized as psychological resilience (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012;2013).
Fletcher and Sarkar defined psychological resilience as “the role of mental processes
and behaviour in promoting personal assets and protecting an individual from the potential
negative effects of stressors” (2012, p. 675; 2013, p. 6). This definition encompasses both
trait and process conceptualisations of resilience, extending previous conceptual work that
focuses on resilience as a trait solely (cf. Windle, 2011). From a trait perspective studies in
clinical psychology developed a list of protective factors that help individuals achieve
positive adaptation to challenging circumstances. Rutter (1995) defined protective factors as
“influences that modify, ameliorate, or alter a person’s response to some environmental
hazard that predisposes to a maladaptive outcome” (p. 600). These protective factors
influence the individuals’ cognitive reactions in a constructive manner leading to facilitative
responses. Said cognitive reactions; the athletes ‘challenge appraisals’ and ‘meta-cognitions’,
lead to the athlete taking charge of their own thoughts, feelings, and actions. Protective
factors from current literature include: self-efficacy and esteem, internal control, optimism,

humour, and social support (Rutter, 1985; Werner & Smith, 1992) others include: hope
(Horton & Wallander, 2001), and spirituality (Peres, Moreira-Almeida, Nasello, & Koenig,
2007). Sarkar and Fletcher (2014) argued that the protective factors found in current, clinical
based, research are specific to the context in which they arise and cannot be easily
generalised to a sports context.
Resilience Research in Sport
In the first qualitative study of resilience in sport, Galli and Vealey (2008) looked to
explore athletes’ perceptions and experiences of resilience. They recruited 10 collegiate level
athletes who had experienced an adversity in their athletic career. Semi-structured interviews
were used to understand their perceived experiences of resilience, using Richardson’s (2002)
model of resiliency as a framework. Based on inductive analysis, Galli and Vealey (2008)
found injury to be an adversity for half of the athletes interviewed, with performance slumps,
and transitions also discussed. One particular limitation of this study is the wide-ranging
inclusion criteria for the type of adversity; therefore a deeper understanding of any one
particular stressor isn’t developed (Galli & Gonzalez, 2015).
Fletcher and Sarkar (2012), addressing some of the weaknesses of Galli and Vealey
(2008) study, interviewed twelve former Olympic champions and developed a grounded
theory of psychological resilience and optimal sports performance. The study found that
Olympic champions faced a variety of stressors and presented a list of psychological factors
(protective factors) including: positive personality, motivation, focus, perceived social
support, and confidence which ‘protect’ elite athletes from the potential negative effect of the
stressors faced by affecting their challenge appraisals and meta-cognitions. This study,
although having limitations such as recall bias issues due to the reflective nature of the
interviews, furthered knowledge of psychological resilience, introducing the idea of challenge

appraisals and meta-cognitions as well as offering the first definition of resilience in a
sporting context (Galli & Gonzalez, 2015).
Brown, Lafferty, and Triggs (2015) conducted a more recent study of resilience in
winter sports. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven British elite winter
sports athletes. Injury was highlighted by a number of participants as important in regards to
the factors which contribute to resilience. Similarly, to the study by Galli and Vealey (2008)
this paper is limited by its reliance on Richardson et al.’s (1990) model which is focussed
highly on coping, which takes away from the uniqueness of resilience and its association with
conditions of adversity and positive adaption (Galli & Gonzalez, 2015).
Sarkar and Fletcher (2014) highlighted the importance of examining the interplay
between protective factors and stressors in athletes as it draws attention to the processes that
bring about adaptation or vulnerability in individuals. In their review, stressors were split in
to three categories: competitive, organisation and personal. Competitive stressors,
specifically, are defined as “the environmental demands associated primarily and directly
with competitive performance” (Mellalieu, Hanton, & Fletcher, 2006, p.3). Based on the
research of competitive stressors (Mellalieu, et al., 2009; Neil, Hanton, Mellalieu, & Fletcher,
2011), preparation, pressure, underperforming, and injury were all found to stressors in
relation to competitive performance.
Sport Injury
Sport injury is a prominent stressor for athletes, and there is a growing body of
empirical evidence to support this (e.g., Evans, et al., 2012; Podlog & Eklund, 2006; Wadey,
Clark, Podlog, & McCullough, 2013). Returning to competition following injury can be a
difficult process for athletes (Bianco, 2001), for most athletes who experience this stressor a
successful return is the foremost goal (Podlog & Eklund, 2009). However, there is no general
understanding of what is meant by successful return (Evans, Mitchell, & Jones, 2006).

Podlog and Eklund (2009) addressed the aforementioned issue by investigating the
athletes’ perceptions of a successful return. Using a longitudinal design, twelve elite athletes
were interviewed a total of forty occasions over a six to eight-month period. Perceptions of
success concentrated on four categories: a return to pre-injury levels of performance,
attaining pre injury level goals, the absence of injury related concerns, and the ability to
overcome stressors such as injury in the future.
Present Study
Injury has been identified as a stressor prominently in psychological resilience
research (Brown et al., 2015; Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012; Galli & Vealey, 2008) and the
majority of sports injury research has been conducted regarding; positive rehabilitation and
how this is achieved (Podlog, Dimmock, & Miller, 2011; Podlog & Eklund, 2006, 2009).
There is a clear link between the two fields of research topics and as stated by Galli and
Vealey (2008) “athletic populations known to be at risk of psychological distress, such as
injured athletes, could be studied to better understand the unique characteristics and processes
that allow them to not only recover, but perhaps achieve psychological growth as a result of
their experiences” (p. 331). Fletcher and Sarkar (2012) emphasized that the influence of
psychological factors or ‘protective factors’ should be considered in relation to the specific
stressors faced and in the situation they occur. Currently, there are no studies that look at how
psychological resilience can play a role in the resilient return from sports injury, which this
study aims to address. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to explore the resilient
qualities that facilitated successful injury recovery using qualitative methods.
Method
Qualitative methods were used to address the research question as they are well suited
to the revealing of protective process which are related to the experiences of the participants

(Ungar, 2003). Therefore, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with each participant
to elicit the protective factors relevant to their individual injury circumstances.
ResearchDesign
Participants. The sample consisted of 6 males with ages ranging from 19 – 22 (M = 21, SD
= 1.55) years. The participants represented both individual (boxing) (n = 1) and team
(football and rugby) (n = 5) sports with a range of 9 – 15 years’ experience playing (M =
13.66, SD = 2.13). The criteria required for participation in the present study included the
need for the athlete to perceive their return from sporting injury as successful. This was
chosen to help explain the link between resilient qualities and successful recovery. The injury
in question should have led to an absence from sport related activity for 2 months or more
(Podlog & Eklund, 2009). This length of absence was selected due to previous research
having used a time loss of 1 month as a gauge for an injury to be considered serious (Bianco,
2001). The success of recovery was determined by athlete perception of their return based on:
a return to pre-injury levels of performance, attaining pre-injury goals, an absence of injury
related concerns, and an ability to overcome similar adversities (Podlog & Eklund, 2009).
The criteria for the study also included the participants’ injuries having occurred within 6
months prior to the interview being conducted. This was to eliminate issues with memory
recall.
Interview guide. The interview guide (see Appendix A) was informed by extensive research
of both psychological resilience (Brown et al., 2015; Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012; Galli &
Vealey, 2008) and sports injury (Podlog & Eklund, 2006;2009) literature. In particular, Galli
and Vealey’s (2008) six-section framework was used to inform the interview guide as 5 of
the 10 interviewed athletes in the study identified injury as the most difficult adversity they
faced, with the following questions then being based on their injury experience; this guide
was then adapted to suit the current study. The guide was also consistent with research that

studied athletes’ response to injury and included the 3 phases synonymous with sports injury
(injury onset, rehabilitation and return; e.g., Evans et al., 2012).
The interview guide consisted of several structured questions so that all key concepts
regarding psychological resilience were addressed. The used of semi structured interviews
allowed the participant to guide the interview with their responses whilst staying in an
interview framework (Kvale, 1996). The guide was split into 6 sections (see Appendix A):
Introduction, rapport building, injury experience, resilient qualities, implications and ending
comments. The ‘injury experience’ section included questions regarding participants
experience of being injured; example questions include, “Can you tell me about your
experiences of being injured? (at onset, during, and post)” and “Could you describe the effect
the injury had on you as an athlete”. The ‘resilient qualities’ section looked to explore the
factors enabling an adaptive response and return to pre-injury levels of functioning, and
examined athletes’ protective factors which determined their capability to react positively to
adverse conditions. Example questions from this section include “What personal factors do
you feel were important in recovering from your injury?” and “What specific qualities do you
feel enabled you to be successful in returning from injury?” The interview was concluded by
allowing the participant the opportunity to discuss any issues they feel would enhance
understanding of their experiences of resilience following injury.
Procedure. Ethical approval was sought and approved by the Nottingham Trent University
ethics committee prior to participant recruitment beginning (see Appendix B). The researcher
sought recommendations from contacts, clubs, coaches, and athletes in seeking suitable
candidates. Athletes who met the criteria were contacted using the following methods:
individualised emails to coaches, clubs, or the athletes themselves. Athletes who then
volunteered for participation were contacted to arrange an interview at a suitable time and
location. Before participation, all participants were given an information sheet (see Appendix

C) detailing the aims of the study and the aspects of their involvement and were asked to sign
a consent form (see Appendix D) and fill in a demographic sheet (see Appendix E) prior to
the interviews.
Data Collection. The interviews took place in suitable and pragmatic locations for both the
participant and researcher. Each interview lasted between 21 and 40 minutes (M = 30.67, SD
= 6.10) with all dialogue being recorded using an Olympus digital voice recorder (WS-852).
All interviews were transcribed verbatim (see Appendix F), totalling 54 pages, following
completion of the interviews
Data Analysis
Inductive thematic analysis was used as it was thought to be the correct design due to
its flexibility, its potential to provide a rich and complex account of the data (Braun & Clarke,
2006) and its use in other psychological resilience literature (Morgan, Fletcher, & Sarkar,
2013; Brown et al., 2015). In accordance with thematic analysis procedures (Braun & Clarke,
2006), the transcripts were read and re-read to increase familiarisation with the content.
Preliminary codes were then extracted from the transcripts. From this lower order themes
were created. As the lower order themes were examined, additional links and interactions
emerged which allowed higher order themes to be created.
Methodological Quality
Tracy (2010) in her piece on qualitative quality offered 8 criteria for excellent
qualitative research which included: worthy topic, rich rigor, sincerity, credibility, resonance,
significant contribution, ethical, and meaningful coherence. The current research accounted
for quality of the research by addressing these criteria. Resilience is an emerging
phenomenon in sports psychology research (cf. Galli & Gonzalez, 2015), and with injury a
prominent stressor in many athletes’ careers, the current research should therefore be
considered a ‘worthy topic’. In terms of ‘rich rigor’, an appropriate sample was used, by

means of purposive sampling of participants who were the most appropriate persons for the
research (cf. Morgan, et al., 2013), specifically, athletes’ who had suffered an injury of
aforementioned length. The research addresses ‘sincerity’ through the honesty of the
researcher’s biases and goals, and how these played role in the development of the methods
(Tracy, 2010), specifically, the interview guide, although the questions weren’t leading,
questions were related to current resilient qualities already highlighted in previous research
(Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012). The ‘credibility’ criteria are addressed through the thorough
description of methods and research topics that will be implemented so the reader has the
ability to reproduce the work. ‘Resonance’ was achieved through reporting direct quotations
from participants, providing rich descriptions, and writing understandably (cf. Ungar, 2003).
The findings of this study are hoped to make a ‘significant contribution’ and offer a novel
understanding of resilient qualities and sports injury in athletes, and are applicable to a wide
range of practitioners’, coaches’ and athletes’. The research should be considered ‘ethical’ as
approval was gained by the ethics committee at Nottingham Trent University and the
researcher adhered to ethical practice throughout the interactions with participants. Finally, in
regards to ‘meaningful coherence’ the results answer the research question and the
conclusions.
Results
The results found from the data collection and analysis represent the interview
responses of 6 athletes relating to psychological resilience and successful recovery from
injury. Findings have been presented using direct quotations, drawing directly from the
participants’ experience of resilience and injury, to represent the lower order themes (26) and
higher order themes (7). The higher order themes pertain to factors which protect the
individual from the negative effects of injury and comprise of the following: Being

motivated, experience of previous adversities, having support systems, using faith, being
confident, being positive, and being focussed.
Being motivated
This higher order theme refers to the injured athlete being prone to finding sources of
motivation in their environment which aids them being resilient. The being motivated higher
order theme contains 6 lower order themes: Motivation from exercise, passion for sport,
return to competition, looking back at previous performances, motivation from friends and
family, and having previous success.
Motivation from exercise. Being active in the gym was highlighted as one source motivation
during the participants’ recovery by one footballer who suffered a long period out due to a
broken metatarsal injury:
“Keeping active as much as I can… I couldn’t play so I knew my fitness would
deteriorate... even when my leg was in a brace… I feel just being active is important
in keeping you motivated to not give up”.
Any source of activity seemed to lead the participants to gain motivation in their
recovery with the gym being cited as something which “got me back motivated” along with
walks and swimming.
Passion for sport. The participants’ passion for their sport was cited as a motivator in the
rehabilitation by 5 of the 6 participants who mentioned their “love” for the sport and the
“need to get back out on the pitch”. When asked what factor was the most important within
themselves which helped them get back, one participant stated following a long standing
injury:

“My … passion for sport got me motivated to get back into playing. I keep relaxed,
knowing I would get back and this time out wasn’t the end of the world, and my love
of the game just pushed me to stay fit “.
Return to competition. This lower order theme relates to the idea of returning to
competition acting as a motivator for the participants to push through their rehabilitation. One
participant who suffered a hamstring strain motivated themselves by thinking of their return
to competition… “another week, another week, I’ll be back next week”. Another participant
who broke their eye socket looked to the “period when you come back and start competing
again because that will motivate you to getting back…”.
Having previous success. The majority of participants had experienced previous successes in
the careers, with one participant stating: “winning everything there is to win in youth
football”, another “representing counties” and a couple generally playing at high standards.
These previous successes acted as a motivator to get back to that. One participant, a rugby
union player who suffered a broken humerus, had progressed from academy to championship
level before becoming injured, and said: “I think my drive… I’ve always been quite
successful in sports so I was driven to get back to that success”.
Motivation from friends and family. Gaining motivation from the support of friends and
family acted as a drive for one participant who said:
“I think it’s also the support from family and friends as well. I’m quite lucky to have a
tight family, they get in contact with me quite a lot and again if someone’s asking you
how it’s all going it drives you on. Probably, I didn’t notice at the time, but you
wanna get back to it for them as well.”

Experience of previous adversities
This higher order theme refers to the participants’ previous experiences of adverse
situations and how these experiences may have helped during their rehabilitation. 5 of the 6
interviewed athletes had experienced some form of adversity during their careers, which
helped them be resilient during this injury setback. The lower order themes here include:
experiencing previous injuries, experiencing previous setbacks, and withstanding setbacks in
rehabilitation.
Experiencing previous injuries. Facing previous injuries was reported by 3 of the 6 athletes
with one participant, a boxer who had broken his eye socket, having suffered three or four
serious injuries in a couple of years, was asked if these experiences helped during his current
rehabilitation the participant stated:
“Yeah… I think there’s only so much you can do about it to the point where you can
either sit there and accept the circumstances and just carry on about your business and
continue to do what you do; you know what I mean? So, you can’t let it defeat you”.
Experiencing previous setbacks in career. Reported setbacks in the athletes’ careers
included missing competitions, ending a trial with a professional team, and not being selected
due to size. One participant stated that:
“I was competing for about two or three seasons but didn’t… enter a major
tournament until my fourth year… I think that helps… by the time I got to my first
major tournament… I was probably ten times better than the people that were in the
tournament… it resulted in me winning… after all the other adversity I’d faced…
each one can make you stronger”.

Withstanding setbacks during rehabilitation. The participants who suffered more serious
injuries generally suffered setbacks during their rehabilitation and being mentally strong
enough to be resilient to these setbacks and not give up was important in the overall
rehabilitation process. One participant who suffered a broken metatarsal and was out for eight
months: “Well the doctor said five weeks… but obviously it turned out to be a lot longer…
the fact I was out for a lot longer than diagnosed didn’t really upset me too much…”. The
participant also stated this setback increased his “eagerness to get out and play”.
Having support systems
This higher order theme pertains to the importance and implications of having strong
support systems in place during the rehabilitation process. This theme consists of 5 lower
themes comprising of: importance of staying involved with the club/sport, motivation from
support, support from healthcare experts, support from other injured athletes, and support
from the club/team/coach.
Importance of staying involved with the club/sport. Staying involved with everything at
the club, and not distancing themselves helped the injured athlete be resilient during the
process. One participant, when asked about the factors that helped during their recovery,
stated:
“I think keeping involved, and going to watch them play kind of took my mind off it,
in a sense, I was thinking another week, another week, another week, I’ll be back next
week and I kept thinking like that. So after I started going to the games, it kind of
helped me focus on getting back and I set goals of getting through each week, so just
immersing myself into it helped me”.

Support from healthcare experts. Having support from doctors, physiotherapists and
strength & conditioning coaches was cited has helpful by 4 of the 6 participants, this support
not only gave the participant an understanding of the injury but also the recovery process and
acted as a protective factor. Two of the participants had access to physiotherapy and strength
and conditioning coaches. One participant stated, when asked about how the coaches had
helped during their recovery, “the physios especially, I was having two of three sessions as
week just trying to build my arm up…”. Another participant suggested that “one on one
psychology sessions” would help during the injury process to “keep your mind going”.
Support from other injured athletes. Receiving advice from people who have also
experienced injury and also going through the experience with others was suggested as aiding
the rehabilitation process by 3 of the 6 athletes. One participant sought advice from a friend
who had experienced the same injury “so he knows about my situation, so he knows how to
get through tough times”. Two participants, who were part of the same club, went through the
rehabilitation together.
“…quite a few of us were injured at the same time so it wasn’t just me in the
situation, the fact there was 3 of us, we were doing … every recovery session with
each other so it made it a lot easier.”
Support from the club/team/coach. Receiving support from the club, teammates and the
coach helped the participants with their recovery. When asked about the factors within their
environment which were important in recovery, one participant who had suffered a broken
eye socket, said:

“…my coach is very, very supportive and so there’s a very good infrastructure at the
club… I have a great relationship with my coach, bit like another family member. So I
think that helped a lot ‘cos they were all sympathetic to the situation and didn’t want
to rush me into making any decisions in terms of how I trained or not trained so that
helped a lot.”
Use of faith
2 participants of the 6 spoke about their practice of faith and religion seemed to
facilitate positive recovery and help athletes be resilient during the process. One participant
stated that his religion helped when he felt “isolated” and stated that “I think religion really
helped” in his recovery process. This higher order theme was made up of 3 lower order
themes relating to: religion creating focus, religion offering motivation, and religion creating
a positive outlook.
Religion creating focus. Religion seemed to lead to greater focus or being more
“disciplined” in the process. 1 participant, when asked what factors in their environment
helped him, replied: “I think religion really helped, I prayed quite a bit, it disciplined me as
well, helped me think it’s going to pass, it will pass, don’t worry I’ll get better.”
Religion offering motivation. Religion was expressed as a form of motivation for one
athlete who, when asked what personal factors were most important in his recovery, said:
“I’m motivated about my faith. I’m a Christian and I think after that time, it sent me
into a period of reflection, praying and stuff, so I feel like inspired through my faith.
That was probably one of the biggest factors”.

Religion creating a positive outlook. Both participants spoke about how their religion
helped them to remain positive during their recovery. One participant when asked which
factor was most influential in his recovery, responded.
“Definitely my faith. Definitely my faith because it just gave me so much hope that
there’s better things to come. Things looked really bleak then… and I think just my
faith gave me the biggest amount of hope in the sense that this is all happening for a
reason and it can only get better”.
Being confident
The higher order theme of confidence pertains to the injured athletes having
confidence in themselves to overcome challenges within the recovery process and involves
two lower order themes of: confidence in ability, and confidence in recovery.
Confidence in ability. Having confidence in their own ability was expressed by 3 of
the 6 participants, having the confidence to think “I would come back and I would get my
position back as the goalkeeper”. One participant, who had undergone knee surgery, stated
when asked if they were sure they would return to pre injury levels of performance: “I never
doubted I’d come back a worse player… I have a mentality that it’ll always get better and it’ll
get back to what it was…”.
Confidence in recovery. This lower order theme relates to the individual having confidence
in their recovery. 1 participant, when ask what factors were most important in his recovery
stated: “my confidence like, I think if I didn’t sort of back myself to get back to where I
was… so I think my confidence… got me through it”. Having the confidence to “push
yourself through the bad times” and having “no doubt in my mind as soon as I got told I’ll be
back playing…” also highlight the theme.

Being positive
Having a positive outlook on the situation and in life was mentioned by all of the
participants with 3 of the 6 expressing the importance of it throughout the 2 lower order
themes of: positive mind-set, seeing injury as a chance to improve.
Positive mind-set. Having a positive mind-set during the process helped participants remove
negativity… “the positive outlook is important… otherwise you just give up, you’d think
negatively all the time…” the idea of the positive mind-set was highlighted by one participant
who stated: “having the positive outlook is the most important thing… otherwise you just
give up, you’d just think negatively all the time, you’d just be dejected… you’d just give up”.
Seeing injury as a chance to improve. Being positive about the situation and seeing the
injury as an opportunity to improve as a person and as an athlete was expressed by 3 of the 6
participants. Having the view that the injury is a chance to improve tactically was expressed
by 2 of the participants, who had the opportunity to coach other teams within their club:
“…so you try and improve other areas of your game. So I’ve now faced the fact now
that the side step of my left leg isn’t going to be as strong because of the knee, it isn’t
that strong, so I’ve then tried to work further on my right step, yeah, and just improve
other evasive ways of playing.”
Being focussed
This higher order theme relates to having focus during the rehabilitation process and
contains the lower order themes of: activity leading to focus, focus on technical
improvement, positive distractions, return to competition, and the need for goals. Focus was
mentioned by all participants as something which helped during their recovery.

Activity leading to focus. When reflecting on their rehabilitation, the importance of keeping
active was specifically addressed by a few participants who saw activity as “important” and
that it “definitely helped” during their recovery. This was highlighted by one participant who
stated “Yeah, keeping active has definitely helped, during your injury if you can keep active,
in any way possible it can only help you, even if it’s just swimming, weights anything really,
it helped me focus on keeping fit”.
Focus of technical improvements. Two of the participants used their injury lay off as an
opportunity to “focus on other elements of my game technically”. And not “worrying about
competing and making weight of competing” allowed one participant to focus just on
training. When asked if the injury had improved him as an athlete, he saw the opportunity to
assess his game and see how he would get back into the side:
“…there has been players that have come into the team… I’ve been able to look at
them… and see what I need to do to improve… So I’ll give you an example, I need to
make sure that I offer a little bit more attack rather than just short line”.
Positive distractions. Positive distractions mentioned by the participants included:
education, socialising, and activity. These distractions were taking the focus away from the
negative aspects of injury and doing something which is found enjoyable. When asked about
any distractions they had during their recovery, one participant stated, talking in regard to
their education:
“uni… was something that took my mind of football for a while, but I suppose that
was a good thing in the sense of keeping away from the frustration side of things, I
mean keeping my mind away from football completely and when coming back being

completely renewed and refreshed with fully charged batteries, was helpful in my
opinion”.
Return to competition. Looking at the time when you return to competition is something
which was mentioned as something which drove focus in one participant who stated:
“Number one is just try and focus a lot more, focus your mind of that period when you come
back and start competing again…” Looking at this time rather than the time you can’t
compete seems to act as a drive. Another participant was focussed on returning to play as he
saw sport as a form of escapism from the real world: “football it kind of gets me away from
all that, it takes my mind off that life stress… it made me even more focussed to get back…”.
Needfor goals. Having set goals along the process was mentioned by the majority of the
participants as offering something to focus on. One participant, in regards to being told when
he would return, stated: “As soon as that goal was set, and there was no doubt in my mind…
I’ll be back playing”. It was suggested that without goals “there was no purpose” and having
goals helps the individual “see an end to the injury”. Have goals helped one participant focus
on his return: “… I set goals of getting through each week, so just immersing myself into it
helped me”.
Discussion
The purpose of the current study was to explore psychological resilience within the
context of sports injury and identify the qualities that may influence successful return using
qualitative methods. The findings of the study discovered seven high order themes that
described resilient qualities and successful return from sports injury: being motivated,
experience of previous adversities, having support systems, using faith, being confident,
being positive and being focussed. The results add to the suggestion that resilience is a
complex construct of personal qualities that allow athletes to deal with challenging

circumstances (Sarkar & Fletcher, 2014). The results presented will hopefully give
practitioners’, coaches’, and athletes’ an understanding of resilient qualities that are
facilitative when it comes to successful to return from sports injury.
The findings from the current study offer support to the results presented in Fletcher
and Sarkar (2012), relating to motivation, perceived social support, confidence, positive
personality, and focus. These findings support the idea of the interaction of psychological
factors determining the emergence of resilience in response to adversity/stressors. The
results, which back up previous work, and the novel findings of this study, all seem to have
an influence on the injury-resilience relationship. The results will be discussed in relation to
the findings which offer support for Fletcher and Sarkar’s (2012), followed by the two novel
findings.
Being motivated seemed to enable the participants to be resilient in their return from
injury. Kumpfer (2002) identified characteristics of motivation as one of five internal
protective factors that aid resilience, and Brown et al., (2015) recognised motivation as one of
the most prominent strategies associated with resilience. Motivation to return to sport
following injury was described as complex due to the variety of motivational forces that
influence the return to sport (Podlog & Eklund, 2006), in the case of the current study the
motivational forces included: exercise, passion for sport, a return to competition, previous
success, and looking at previous performances. With the knowledge that there are extensive
motivational forces, sports psychologists can achieve the enhancement of motivation through
many means which may be individual to the athlete and their environment.
Having support systems, as with Fletcher and Sarkar’s (2012) work, highlight the
positive effect having support systems has in reducing stress and the effect on injured
athletes’ recovery efforts (Robbins & Rosenfeld, 2001). The various forms of social agents
available to the participants allowed the individual to use any source of support they found

most helpful alongside their personal resources, and these were factors which were found to
lead to positive outcomes, in the form of learning or gained motivation (Galli & Vealey,
2008). One particular lower order theme found in this study was support from other injured
athletes, this result was back up by Podlog and Eklund (2006) who found receiving support
from others who shared similar circumstances was helpful in athletes’ adaptation to their
injury. Also reported in Fletcher and Sarkar (2012), having confidence seemed to be a
protective factor for the majority of injured athletes. Bianco, Malo, and Orlick (1999)
reported reduced self-confidence as a source of stress, therefore remaining confident
throughout the process of injury would appear to protect the individual from negative aspects
of the injury. Having and keeping self-confidence throughout the injury process has been
identified as having a positive influence on athletic performance (Woodman & Hardy, 2003),
the results from the current study offer support for confidence having a positive effect on
injury rehabilitation.
Having a positive outlook during the process acted as another protective factor that
preceded a successful return from injury. Findings from Podlog and Eklund (2009) suggest
that having a positive emotional response to adversity plays a significant role in resilient
reintegration following injury. As found in Fletcher and Sarkar (2012), and in the present
study, participants were proactive following their injury, and recognised the opportunity to
improve other areas of their game whilst they were out injured. Being focussed is the final
protective factor from the Fletcher and Sarkar (2012) study which the current study supports.
Focus has been found to be a psychological characteristic which enables champions to
manage a variety of stressors (Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). The idea of switching
one’s focus on and off their sport, is supported in the present study by the lower order theme
of positive distractions; one gold medalist from Fletcher and Sarkar’s (2012) study advised
“either do some voluntary work or some part-time work, so that they have a distraction from

their sport” (pp. 674). Having the ability to change the point of focus seems to be an
important factor in protecting individuals from stressors such as injury. Brown, Lafferty,
Triggs (2015) found focus to be something which enabled winter sports athletes to
concentrate on their recovery and block any negative aspects of the process.
The final two higher order themes from the current study relate to the previous
experience of adversity and the use of faith acting as protective factors in the injury
rehabilitation process. In relation to the positive impact of previous experience of adversity,
Brown, Lafferty, and Triggs (2015) suggested these previous adversity experiences have an
obvious impact on the acquisition of resilient qualities, with three key themes relating to this:
knowledge acquired from previous experiences, application of this knowledge, and
recognition of own capabilities. Sarkar and Fletcher (2014) found that experience and
learning enabled thriving in high achievers, acting as a protective factor; facing adverse
situations and learning from these experiences were perceived to encourage resilience and
thriving. Podlog and Eklund (2009) found that overcoming adversity led to the perception of
a successful return following injury, this finding relates to the lower order theme of
withstanding setbacks during rehabilitation; being able to overcome the various challenges
associated with injury rehabilitation was a key part of a successful recovery.
Faith can act as a protective factor during the injury process by helping the way
athletes process the associated stressors. An important factor in developing resilience is the
way individual perceives and processes stressors, with faith potentially having an influence
on this perception (Peres et al., 2007). Pargament, Koenig, Tarakeshwar, and Hahn (2004)
offered examples of how faith and religiousness help individuals deal with stressors, some of
which appeared in the current study: benevolent reappraisal (seeking lessons from God);
seeking spiritual support (looking for comfort in their religion); active religious surrender
(doing what they can and putting the rest in God’s hands) one participant from the current

study highlighted this when asked how his faith helped him… “everything happens for a
reason, my belief in God is that… everything happens for a reason so you just have to let it
play out its course”.; seeking spiritual connection (viewing the adversity as part of God’s
plan), and seeking religious direction (praying to find new reason in life).
Strengths and Limitations
Although a number of findings support those previously reported (Fletcher & Sarkar,
2012) and aren’t predominantly distinctive, the findings advance knowledge and
understanding of psychological resilience in a number of ways. As aforementioned in the
introduction, the current study is the first to look into a specific stressor in an athletic
population known to be at risk of psychological distress, expressly how psychological
resilience aids rehabilitation from sports injury. Based on this, the findings have the potential
to make a contribution to research in the field of sports injury and psychological resilience.
The current study also highlights how experiencing previous adversities and religiousness can
be resilient qualities in the injury recovery process, findings which may help guide sports
psychologists when working with injured athletes. The findings back up Fletcher and
Sarkar’s (2012) work in many ways, not only by highlighting the application of the protective
factors found in relation to a specific stressor, but also in regards to applying the findings to
more general populations than Olympic champions with the participants in this study
generally being amateur level.
As with all studies, the current research had a number of limitations. The retrospective
nature of the study makes the participants susceptible to the effects of memory decay and
bias. Although, had the interviews been conducted during the process, the interviewer may
have become a source of social support, which may have lessened the effect of the injury
(Evans et al., 2012). A further limitation of the study is the small number of participants that
were included due to the qualitative nature of the study. The results from the study are limited

due to the bias towards the trait aspects of resilience, with no reference to the influence of
socio environmental factors on athletes’ ability to positively adapt, which is found to be
important in other qualitative studies of resilience (e.g. Galli & Vealey, 2008).
Future Researchand Applied Implications
With these limitations in mind, future research should look to explore the process
view of resilience which has been advocated by many scholars (e.g. Windle, 2011). A
longitudinal study, which looks to explore the relationship between psychological resilience
and the injury recovery process will offer practitioners a better understanding of the
protective factors that operate at each stage of the recovery as well as the influence of the of
socio environmental factors. Future research should also look further into the novel protective
factors presented in this study; the previous experience of adversity and the learning or sense
of mastery that comes from these experiences and the use of religion in overcoming injury.
Future research should look specifically at how religiousness can act as a protective factor
from all adversities that athletes may face, this would be an interesting line of research for
religious or spiritual athletes.
There are a number of applied implications for sports organisations and club,
practitioners, coaches and athletes to come from this study. The results provide a greater
understanding of the impact of resilience on the injury process in sport, and its relationship
with a successful recovery. Individuals working with injured athletes should look to identify
the protective factors (i.e., being motivated, experience of previous adversities, having
support systems, using faith, being confident, being positive, being focussed) that the injured
athlete should look to attain and develop to promote resilience, and if monitored, this will
allow interventions to be made to help achieve optimal levels and the correct balance of these
factors. To help monitor and facilitate these factors, expert coaching or access to sports

psychology professionals would allow injured athletes to achieve a resilient and successful
return from injury.
Conclusion
This study is the first to look at the role of psychological resilience in successful
injury rehabilitation and looked to explore the qualities that facilitated this successful return.
The results from the current study provided support to the findings from Fletcher and Sarkar
(2012) with an application to sports injury. Furthermore, the results have also provided
further potential protective factors which could facilitate resilience in the injury process. The
novel findings highlight the importance of experiences of previous adversity, supporting
work by Brown et al., (2015), and introduce the use of faith as protective factors in relation to
injury. The results have implications in both sports injury and psychological resilience fields
of research, with the opportunity to improve the injury rehabilitation process from a
psychological view. Future research should look to further explore the relationship between
resilience and sports injury from both a trait and process views of resilience.

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Appendix A
Interview Guide
Section 1- Introduction
 Introduce self and background.
 Discuss athlete’s perception of success of recovery using Podlog & Eklund’s (2009)
criteria (if still injured adapt to suit).
 A return to pre-injury levels of performance; attaining pre-injury goals; an absence of
injury related concerns; the ability to overcome adversity.
Section 2 – Rapport building
1. Can you tell me a bit about your sporting career/background up to now?
2. Can you tell me a bit about your positive experiences in [sport]?
3. What are some of your major accomplishments in [sport] that you are most proud
of?
4. Can you tell me a bit about any negative experiences in [sport]?
Section 3 - Injury Experience
1. Can you tell me a bit about your experiences of being injured (pre, during, and post
injury)? Before your injury, how were you feeling? During your injury? Since your injury?
2. How did you think the injury and your responses would affect your performance?
3. Could you describe the effect the injury had on you as an athlete?
4. Could you describe the effect the injury had on you as a person?
5. Do you think the injury and your responses affected your general well-being?
Section 4 – Resilient Qualities
1. What personal factor(s) do you feel were the most important in recovering from your
injury?
2. What situational factor(s) within your environment were important in your recovery?

3. Which of these do you feel is the most influential?
4. Which of these, if any, helped you to adapt positively?
5. What specific qualities do you feel enabled you to be successful in returning from your
injury?
6. Would you say that aspects of your outlook on the situation helped you return
successfully? (Positive Outlook)
7. What motivated you during your injury to get back fit? (Motivation)
8. Did you feel sure you could return to pre injury levels? (Confidence) and why?
9. Tell me about any distraction you had during your recovery and there affect on it? (Focus)
10. Tell me about anyone (if anyone) who helped you through the recovery process? (Social
Support)
Section 5 - Implications
1. What advice or suggestions would you give to athletes to help them become more resilient
to injury?
2. What suggestions would you make to coaches and team managers to help them better
prepare athletes in terms of managing the sport injury experience?
3. What recommendations would you give to sport organizations to help them aid athletes
and their coaches in terms of managing the sport injury experience?
Section 6 - Ending + Addition Comments
1. How do you think the interview went?
2. Did you feel you could tell your story fully?
3. Did I lead you or influence your responses in any way?
4. Have you any comments or suggestions about the interview itself?
5. Finally, is there anything that we haven’t talked about that you are able to tell me about
your experience of resilience during the sport injury experience?

Appendix B
Ethical Application and Approval
NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
School of Science and Technology
ETHICS APPROVAL APPLICATION FORM FOR NON-INVASIVE HUMANS
RESEARCH PROJECTS for use by students on taught Undergraduate and
Masters courses
Do you need to submit an ethics application to the School of Science and Technology
Ethics Reviewand Approval Group?
Consult with your research supervisor about the procedure below before submitting an
application for research ethics approval.
Will your research be
purely library-based
research, usingonly
secondary or published
sources?
CompleteEthical Issues Form (supplied by
Academic Team and signed by research
supervisor)
Will your researchinvolve the
collectionof primarydata
which is of an invasive nature?
Submit your applicationforethics
approval tothe School Ethics Review
Committee.
Consult with your supervisorabout
whether CategoryA or B ethics is
more suitable.
Completethis application formforethics approval,andsubmit tothe School of Science andTechnology Non-Invasive Ethics ReviewandApproval
Group (SST ERAG)
Will your research be
involve the collectionof
primary data from
humans?
If using animals, seek guidance from
supervisor about wheretoseek ethics
approval.
YES
NO
YES
YES
NO
No further actions needed. Submit
copy of Ethical Issues formto
supervisor.
NO

1. Information about the Project
1.1 Your name Asher Phythian
1.2 Your student ID N0424913
1.3 Your course MRes Sport Science
1.4
Module code and title
SPOR40001 (Sport Research
Project)
1.5 Name of your research
supervisor
Dr Mustafa Sarkar
1.6 Anticipated project start date Upon ethics approval
1.7 Estimated end date of the project Friday 19th
August 2016
1.8 Which professional association’s
code of ethical practice is most
relevant to your project?
British Psychological Society (BPS)
1.9 List up to three keywords which
describe the topic of your
research.
Sport psychology; resilience; injury.
1.10 List up to three keywords which
describe the research design and
methods you plan to use in your
research.
Qualitative; semi-structured
interview; thematic analysis.

2. Project Outline
2.1 Briefly outline the aims and objectives of the research. [75 words]
The aim of the research is to explore psychological resilience in injured
athletes. Specifically, using qualitative methods, the research will
investigate how athletes who have experienced a serious sporting injury
responded positively (psychologically) in their particular sporting context.
2.2 Briefly describe the principal methods, the sources of data or evidence to
be used, and the number and type of research participants who will be
recruited to the project. [150 words]
Participants will comprise of 8-10 athletes aged 18+ who participate
regularly in competitive sport and who have recovered positively from a
serious sporting injury. All athletes will volunteer their participation prior to
the study onset by reading an information sheet and signing an informed
consent form.
Each athlete will take part in one semi-structured interview lasting
between 30-60 minutes. The interviews will be digitally recorded using a
Dictaphone, transcribed verbatim, and subsequently analysed using the
thematic analysis procedures outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006).
2.3 Do you intend to use published research
instruments/resources (e.g., questionnaires, scales,
psychometrics, vignettes)?
If NO, proceed to Question 2.7.
If YES, complete Questions 2.4 – 2.6.
Yes No
2.4 Have you included with this application a full electronic copy
or link to each published research instrument/resource? N/A
Yes No
2.5 If you are using published research
instruments/resources, do you have permission to use
them in the way that you intend to use them?
Yes No N/A
2.6 What steps will be taken to ensure compliance with the requirements of
copyright rules for the use of published scale?
N/A
2.7 Are you developing your own research resources/instruments
to collect data?
If NO, proceed to Section 3.
If YES, complete Questions 2.8 and 2.9.
Yes No
2.8 Briefly describe the research resources/instruments you are developing.
[50 words]

Based on previous literature in the area, a semi-structured interview guide
will be developed to facilitate discussions about participants’ experiences of
resilience in the context of sport injury. Topic areas will include athletes’
sporting background and injury experience, and personal qualities that
they feel have enabled them to react positively to injury.
2.9 Have you included with this application an electronic copy of
your own bespoke/self-developed research instrument(s) that
you will use to collect data?
Yes No

3. Does the project require a Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS)/Overseas Police Check?
3.1 Does the project involve direct contact with children or young
people under 18 years of age?
Yes No
3.2 Does the project involve direct contact with adults with
learning difficulties, adults who are infirm or physically
disabled or adults who are resident in social care or medical
establishments?
Yes No
3.3 Has a DBS check been stipulated as a condition of access to
any source of data required for the project?
Yes No
3.4 Has an Overseas Police Check been stipulated as a condition of
access to any source of data required for the project?
Yes No
3.5 If you have answered YES to any of these questions, explain the nature of
your contact with participants during the research. [75 words]
N/A
3.6 If a DBS/Overseas Police Check has been stipulated as a
condition of access to any source of data required for the
project, have you shown evidence of the check to your
supervisor?
Yes No N/A
3.7 If NO, explain why you have not yet shown evidence of the check to your
supervisor, and specify a date when you will do so. [50 words]
N/A

4. Researchof a Sensitive Nature and Risk of Emotional or Physical Harm
Does your research involve any of the following…
4.1 Research with children under 18 years? Yes No
4.2 Research with adults who experience learning or
communication difficulties?
Yes No
4.3 A significant risk that the project will lead participants to
disclose evidence that children or vulnerable adults are being
harmed or are at risk of harm?
Yes No
4.4 Could the study cause harm, distress or any other
consequences beyond the risks encountered in normal life?
Yes No
4.5 If this is an undergraduate project, and is of a sensitive nature or if it
may cause significant emotional or physical harm to participants, provide
justification for why such an approach to the project is necessary, and
outline the experience and skills you have to undertake the proposed
research.
N/A
4.6 Where is the research taking place?
The research (namely the interviews) will take place at a location that is
most convenient to the participant (e.g., an appropriate area at the
athlete’s club’s training facility, a seminar/lecture room at NTU).
4.7 How do you propose to recruit participants?
A heterogeneous sample of athletes who regularly participate in
competitive sport and who have recovered from a serious sporting injury
will be recruited. A variety of sport personnel (e.g., athletes, coaches)
will be contacted directly, either via telephone, email, or face-to-face, to
explain the purpose and nature of the study. Following an introduction to
the study, athletes who meet the above criteria will be sent an
information sheet and invited to participate in the study. Participants
interested and willing to participate in the study will subsequently be
recruited following informed consent procedures.

4.8 What actions will you take to ensure your safety and that of participants?
To ensure my own personal safety, I will familiarise myself beforehand
with the interview location, dress appropriately for the research setting,
inform my supervisor of where and when I will be conducting interviews,
and ensure my mobile phone is fully charged and switched on at all
times during data collection.
To ensure participants’ safety, I will ensure that participants have been
fully informed about the study (via an information sheet), that they have
given their consent to participate (via an informed consent form), that
participant and researcher roles are sensitively set out and, if
participants do become distressed, they will be given the opportunity for
the Dictaphone to be switched off, to take a break, and/or to stop the
interview entirely.
4.9 If you have answered YES to any of the questions above please explain
why it is necessary for these risks to be incurred. [50 words]
N/A
5. Payment to Participants (Including Research Credits)
5.1 Do you intend to offer participants any kind of inducements or
compensation for taking part in your project? (This includes
research credits for courses).
Yes No
5.2 If YES, please explain why you are doing this and what form the payment
or inducement will take. [50 words]
N/A

6. Anonymity, Confidentiality, Security and Retention of Research Data
REFER TO THE GUIDANCE NOTES ACCOMPANYING THIS FORM BEFORE
COMPLETING THIS SECTION.
6.1 Do you plan to collect non-anonymised data? Yes No
6.2 If you answered NO to Question 6.1 and all data will be anonymous,
explain how you will make it possible for participants to identify their
data and withdraw them from the study. [75 words]
N/A
6.3 Can you guarantee full confidentiality of any personal data
collected for the project?
Yes No
6.4 If YES, explain what steps you will take to maximise confidentiality of
participant data. [50 words]
N/A
6.5 Can you guarantee the full security of any personal or
confidential data collected for the project?
Yes No
6.6 If YES, explain how you intend to secure the research data during the
project and after the project. [50 words]
Hard copies of the interview data (i.e., interview transcripts) will be stored
in a locked filing cabinet, in a locked room, that will only be accessible to
the lead researcher.
Electronic copies of the interview data (i.e., interview transcripts) will be
stored in electronic files that will be password protected, on a password
protected device, and that will only be accessible to the lead researcher.
6.7 Will all non-anonymised data be destroyed at the end of the
project (normally after graduation, or within the specified
period in the participant information sheet)?
Yes No
6.8 If you answered NO to ANY of the questions above, briefly explain why
you feel it is necessary for the research to be conducted in the proposed
way, such that the usual standards of confidentiality, anonymity and
security, referred to above, cannot be met. [75 words]
The nature of qualitative research necessarily involves individual data
extracts being used as evidence in the report. This is to enable the
reader to empathize with, and immerse himself or herself in, the
participants’ perceptions and thereby better understand the complexity
of the issues being investigated.
To partially mitigate this ‘limit to confidentiality’, I will fully anonymise
data when reporting the results. Specifically, all identifying information
in the data will be anonymised and de-identified (e.g., club names,
locations, teammates).

6.9 In light of your response to the questions in this section, can
you confirm that you will comply with the requirements of
the Data Protection Act when conducting your project?
Yes No
7. Informed Consent & Assent (including Opt-in/Opt-out Consent in
Schools)
REFER TO THE GUIDANCE NOTES ACCOMPANYING THIS FORM BEFORE
COMPLETING THIS SECTION.
FOR ALL RESEARCH PROJECTS
7.1 Will every participant be fully informed about why the
project is being conducted and what their participation
will involve?
Yes No
7.2 Have you included with this application a copy of the
participant information sheet?
Yes No
7.3 Will every participant be asked to give written
consent/assent to participating in the project before data
collection begins?
(Refer to the guidance notes for an explanation of
consent and assent).
Yes No
7.4 Have you included with this application a copy of the
participant consent/assent form?
Yes No
7.5 If the answer to Question 7.1 or 7.3 is NO, please explain why it is
necessary to collect data without securing written informed consent
from participants. [75 words]
N/A
FOR PROJECTS INVOLVING CHILDREN OR VULNERABLE ADULTS
7.6 Will you be collecting data from children under 18 years
or from vulnerable adults?
Yes No
7.7 Will you conduct the research in a schoolor similar
organisation?
Yes No
FOR PROJECTS INVOLVING CHILDREN OR VULNERABLE ADULTS
WITHIN SCHOOLS OR SIMILAR ORGANISATIONS
7.8 Will you obtain the consent of the head teacher or
relevant parental proxy?
Yes No N/A
7.9 Have you included with this application a copy of
the letter/information sheet you will give to the
head teacher or relevant parental proxy?
Yes No N/A
the head teacher/parental proxy consent form?
Yes No N/A

7.11 Does the head teacher/parental proxy consent form
include an option to additionally require parental
consent?
Yes No N/A
7.12 If it is stipulated as a condition of access to any
source of data required for the project, will you
also seek parental consent?
Yes No N/A
FOR ALL PROJECTS INVOLVING CHILDREN OR VULNERABLE ADULTS
7.13 If you are conducting research with children under
18 years or vulnerable adults, will you obtain the
consent of the parent/guardian?
Yes No N/A
7.14 If parental/guardian consent is necessary will you
seek ‘opt-in’ or ‘opt-out’ consent?
N/A
7.15 If parental/guardian consent will be OPT-OUT, explain why it is not
possible or appropriate to seek opt-in consent. [75 words]
N/A
the parent/guardian information sheet?
Yes No N/A
the parent/guardian consent form?
Yes No N/A
FOR ALL RESEARCH PROJECTS
Will the information sheets fully inform the participant, and where
relevant, the head teacher/parental proxy or parent/guardian about…
7.18 What the project requires from the participant and what
data will be collected?
Yes No
7.19 What will be done with participant data during and after
the project, including what the participant can expect with
regard to anonymity, confidentiality, security and
retention of data?
Yes No
7.20 The participant’s right to withdraw from the study by the
deadline specified in the information sheet?
Yes No
7.21 If you have answered NO to any of the questions from 7.18-7.21,
explain why it is academically necessary for the project to be
conducted in a way that will not allow all participants the opportunity to
exercise fully-informed consent. [75 words]
N/A
7.22 Will explicit consent be sought for audio (e.g.
Dictaphone), video or photographic recording of
participants?
Yes No N/A
7.23 Does the project involve deceiving, or covert observation
of, participants?
Yes No
7.24 Does the project require that participants are debriefed? Yes No
7.25 If a debrief is necessary, have you included with
this application a copy of the debriefing sheet?
Yes No N/A

7.26 If the project requires that participants are debriefed, explain how you
will implement this at the earliest possible opportunity. [75 words]
N/A
7.27 Are participants responding from a personal level rather
than as a representative of their organisation?
Yes No
7.28 If participants need permission from their
organisation to participate in the study will such
permission been obtained?
Yes No N/A
7.29 If participants are responding as a representative
of their organisation, will you seek a signed letter
from a manager in the organisation where the
research is taking place, giving permission for the
researcher to collect the data?
Yes No N/A

8. Online and Internet Research
Refer to the STT ERAG guidance notes about conducting online and internet research before
completing this section.
8.1 Will any part of your project involve collecting data by means
of electronic media, such as the internet or email?
If NO, proceed to Section 9.
Yes No
8.2 If YES, explain how electronic media will be used in the project. [75
words]
N/A
8.3 Is there a significant possibility that the project will cause
participants to become distressed or harmed beyond the risks
encountered in everyday life?
Yes No
8.4 If YES, explain how you will deal with this given the nature of the
research. [75 words]
N/A
8.5 Will the project incur any other risks that arise specifically from
the use of electronic media?
Yes No
8.6 If YES, explain the risks involved and how you plan to deal with them. [75
words]
N/A
8.7 Do you have permission for the online usage of the
materials/research instruments that you are intending to use?
N/A
8.8 Have you included with this application evidence of
permission to use materials/research instruments online?
Yes No
N/
A
8.9 If NO, explain why not, and how you plan to address the question of
permission for online usage of materials/research instruments. [50 words]
N/A

9. Supervisor’s Review, Comments and Declaration
9.1 Has all appropriate information been provided by the
student?
Yes No
9.2 Has the student attached a copy of the participant
information sheet?
Ye
s
N/A
N
o
9.3 Has the student attached a copy of the informed
consent form?
Ye
s
N/A
N
o
9.4 Has the student attached a copy of the debriefing
sheet?
Yes N/A
N
o
9.5 Has an NTU risk assessment been (or will this be)
undertaken? (It is NOT necessary to include a copy
of the risk assessment with this application).
Yes N/A
N
o
9.6 If the proposed research raises any concerns about the
physical or psychological wellbeing of the participants or
the researcher, have these been addressed
appropriately?
Yes N/A
N
o
9.7 If the research is of a sensitive nature has this been
addressed appropriately?
Yes N/A
N
o
9.8 Has the applicant shown you evidence of their
DBS/Overseas Police Check?
If NO, in Section 8.10, state as a condition of ethics
approval that the applicant should present evidence of
the check before starting data collection.
Yes N/A
N
o
9.9 Do you approve the student’s proposed research
project?
Yes No
9.10 If there are conditions/recommendations to be met before approval can
be granted, please list them here.
N/A
9.11 Additional comments from the supervisor.
Student needs to show me their interview guide before start of data
collection.
Supervisor’s Declaration Please
tick
9.12 I have read this form and confirm that it covers all the ethical
issues raised by this project fully and frankly.

9.13 These issues have been discussed with the student and she/he
has received training in the ethical issues raised by this
research.

9.14 I am confident that the student understands the School’s ethics
protocols and guidance and will be able to comply with these
accordingly.


9.15 If the student is undertaking research of a sensitive nature,
she/he has the skills and expertise necessary to conduct the
research project.

Signed (Supervisor): Date: 18/01/2016

10. Student’s Declaration
Please tick the box to indicate your agreement
10.1 I request a statement of ethics approval from the School of
Science Technology Non-Invasive Ethics Review and Approval
Group and I have answered all questions in this form as
honestly and fully as I can.
10.2 I will carry out the project in a way that is fully in line with the
NTU Research Ethics Framework.
10.3 I will resubmit the application for ethics approval if the project
subsequently changes in any significant way related to the
research ethics framework.
10.4 I will conduct the project in the ways described in this
application.
10.5 I have read and agree to abide by the code of research ethics
issued by the relevant professional society.
10.6 I have read and understood all the relevant guidance notes
and guidelines associated with this form.
10.7 I have read and understood my supervisor’s review and
comments in Section 9.
10.8 I have ensured that that my supervisor has fully completed
and signed Section 9.
10.9 I understand that, at the end of my project, I must include
School of Science Technology Ethics Review and Approval
Group approval as an appendix within my written submission
and comply fully with the conditions of approval as granted.
Signed (Student):
Date:

11. Independent Reviewer Form: Student Submissions to SST ERAG
Please complete all three sections. Please return your reviewonline to SST.Ethics@ntu.ac.uk.
Section 1: Student Details
1.1 Student Name
1.2 Student
Number
Section 2: Your Recommendation to the School of Science and
Technology Ethics Review and Approval Group
Please indicate your agreement with ONE of the decisions below by ticking the relevant option.
2.1 Approve (I have no ethical concerns).
Approve with Recommendations (I have no ethical concerns.
My recommendations to the applicant and their supervisor are
outlined in Section 2.2).
Approve with Conditions (I have ethical concerns and approve
the project subject to the conditions outlined in Section 2.2).
Not Approved (I have ethical concerns. The application should be
resubmitted to SST ERAG after addressing the concerns outlined in
Section 2.2).
2.2 For Approve with Recommendations, Approve with Conditions or
Not Approved decisions, outline the points to be addressed by the
student and their supervisor before starting data collection or
resubmitting the application for ethics approval. [Please use bullet points]
Section 3: Provision of required information
3.1 Has all appropriate information been provided by the
applicant? (e.g., Are participant information sheets and
informed consent forms/debriefing sheets attached
together?)
Yes No
3.2 If the research is of a sensitive nature has this been
addressed appropriately?
Yes N/A No

College of Science
School of Science and Technology
Non-Invasive Human Ethics Committee
Notification of Decision
Student’s Name Asher Phythian
Supervisor’s Name Dr Mustafa Sarkar
NTU ID N0424913
Course MRes Sport Science
Start Date 03/02/2016
End Date 03/02/2019
Approved - you may commence your research as outlined in your application
You must report to the Chair of the committee any untoward incident which results in
completion of an accident report form.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact your project supervisor or
alternatively e-mail SST.ethics@ntu.ac.uk.

Appendix C
Information Sheet
Dear player,
Thank you for agreeing to participate in this research on the psychological resilience
of athletes who have experienced and recovered from injury. Your answers will enable
greater knowledge to be developed on the topic of resilience and its relationship with injury
recovery. The aim of the study is to find a link between resilience qualities and injury
recovery.
Your honest responses are very important for this research. As such, your
answers will remain strictly confidential and will not be passedon to your coach or
others. Participating in this study is voluntary; therefore, you can withdraw from the
study at any time.
The study will consist of an interview where we will discuss topics regarding your
responses to your injury. The interview will be recorded using a Dictaphone and will be
transcribed for analysis.
To be selected for inclusion in the study participants must have suffered a serious
injury and have recovered positively based on their perception of the following: a return to
pre-injury levels (pace, weight etc.), attaining pre-injury goals, and an absence of injury
related concerns (Podlog & Eklund, 2009).
The privacy of the participants will be maintained throughout the study by keeping all
data in locked file cabinets and/or electronically password protected. To keep anonymity
participants will be given ID number and any names, location or positions that could be
linked with the participant’s identity will be omitted from the results
Asher Phythian
Department of Sports Science
Nottingham Trent University
N0424913@ntu.ac.uk

Appendix D
Informed Consent
‘A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF ATHLETES PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE
FOLLOWING SPORTS INJURY’
1. I , agree to participate in the above study.
2. I have read and understood the information regarding the project as provided in the
information sheet.
3. I understand I can withdraw at any time without giving reason and I will not be
penalised for withdrawing nor questioned as to why up until the date of June 20th
4. The procedures regarding my confidentiality have been clearly explained in the
information sheet. (e.g. ID numbers, anonymisation of data etc.)
5. I am aware that the interview will be recorded using a Dictaphone and that the data
will only be seen by the lead research Asher Phythian and his supervisor Mustafa
Sarkar.
6. I confirm I understand what participating in this study entails and understand the
requirements and know of no reason I can’t participate.
7. I was given the opportunity to ask questions and they have been adequately answered.
Participant signature: . Date: .

Appendix E
Participant Demographic
General Information
This information will not be shared and is for the researchers use only.
Name
……………………………………
D.O.B
…………….
Gender
Male
Female
What is your sport?
………………………………….
What injury did you suffer?
………………………………………………
How long did your injury keep you out of competitive action? (months)
……………………
What is the name of your current team/club?
…………………………………………………
Including the current season, how many seasons have you competed in your sport?
…………
Including the current season, how many seasons have you competed for your current team?
…………

Appendix F
Interview Transcripts
Participant 1
Key:
I = Interviewer
R = Respondent (CW)
I: So you were out for 8 months with a broken metatarsal, when did you come back
fully fit?
R: Was back fully fit around April time, that was when I first got back running, and back
into my core stability work, a lot of leg work, plyometric, explosive lower body work,
just making up for lost strength and endurance for that 8-month period.
I: So for I’m looking someone who has perceived themselves to have recovered well
from there injury based on some criteria reported in some research. Would you
say you have had a return to pre injury levels of performance?
R: Yes
I: Would you say you are achieving pre injury level goals?
R: No quite having only been back playing 3 weeks but I do see myself achieving them
yes
I: Do you have an absence of injury related concerns?
R: Yes
I: Would you say you had the ability to overcome adversities such as another
injury?
R: Yes, after this experience.
I: Can you tell me about your sporting career up till now, your background? What
sports do you play, what teams and how long?
R: I first starting playing when I was six years old, with a local team from my area. East
Valley United, typical cute youth football team. Played in the YEL like everyone else
in Nottingham, then moved to Basford United when I was around 10, having a
successful 5 years there, winning everything there is to win in youth football; going to
county tournaments, which is a good experience at that age. I had trials at academies
such as Leicester, Forest and Stoke during my secondary school days. I actually
played EMCL when I was 15 for Poole Town against Basford United’s first team, got
about 40mins, most intense game of my life

I: When did you join your current team? And you knew some people there?
R: When I left school, 2012. Yeah some of the lads there brought me to the club as they
coached me at East Valley, I have actually played for KMW first team before when I
was 15, so I’ve been in and around the club for a while.
I: Have you played any other sports?
R: I played cricket in school, not to a decent standard
I: Can you tell me about any positive experiences you’ve had playing football?
R: Has a I said I’ve won everything there is to win in youth football with my teams, done
a lot of sports days at Harvey Hadden sports with school athletics tournaments. I
would say I’ve been successful
I: What are you most proud of?
R: My academy trials. I was 15, me and my friend would leave school early to travel to
Stoke, I was there for a good period of time. Unfortunately, it got to much with the
travelling, it was obviously intensive as you can imagine, especially with my GCSE
and travelling to and from Stoke every other night. So I eventually ended the trail
early which was a shame but yeah.
I: What about any other negative experiences?
R: My injury and obviously the trial disappointment. I also missed a cup final last year,
sitting on the bench.
I: Can you tell me about your experiences as the injury occurred, describe what
happened?
R: On the pitch, a few seconds into the game, literally without touching the ball, I was
running and I felt a crack in my foot and I huge throbbing sensation came from there
and I went down and couldn’t continue, and this was within 15 seconds of being on
the pitch. At that point its clear something’s wrong, and it turned out I’d suffered a
stress fracture.
I: Did you think it was a serious injury?
R: Yes, I’ve not felt a pain like that before, it was without impact so I just know it would
be.
I: Can you tell me about you experience of being injured? During you 8 months off
what did you do?

R: It was quite boring in a sense, did a lot of work in the gym, spending time with friends
and family, stayed away from football for a while. Because when you’re out injured
and watching football it can get quite frustrating and annoying.
I: What about your experiences post injury?
R: It’s different, a lot of new players there, so I felt like a stranger in my own dressing a
bit, you know. But there was people I knew so it was absolutely fine just got back into
the routine of it. To some of the other players it might have been like a new player,
but to me back to normal, I was kind of in a mixed zone.
I: When you got told how long you’d be out how did you respond?
R: Well the doctor said 5 weeks, he wanted it in a cast, but I said no and had a foot brace,
with a cast you’re limited, it would have been frustrating so I went for brace, but it
was still 5 to 6 weeks’ out, but obviously it turned out to be a lot longer.
I: How did you feel with that setback?
R: Frustrated, but it’s just one of those things. I did actually start playing again in Oct but
I knew it wasn’t right, so I gave it until Dec and went back to training and I felt a
similar pain in my foot again, so I’d thought I’d broke it again, but I went back to the
hospital and they said it wasn’t and it should be fine in a couple of weeks, so I just
kept resting and resting and resting it until March, April time
I: So what emotions were you feeling at this point?
R: Frustration, eagerness to get out and play. The fact I was out for so much longer than
diagnosed didn’t really upset me too much, I was quite laid back about it. It could
have been my fault; I may have knocked it or whatever.
I: Post your injury what have your emotions been like?
R: I just happy to get back on the pitch again playing football
I: How did you think the injury would affect your performance?
R: First couple of games I thought I’d be a bit reluctant with tackling or using my left
foot to shoot, the foot I broke, just simple stuff with the ball, not running for 8 months
affects your agility, so from a physical point of view I was worried about getting my
match sharpness back.
I: What about emotionally, how did you think your responses affected your
performance?
R: In that sense I don’t think it would affect my performance, I don’t think any of my
emotions had an affect really on my performance
I: Could you describe the effect the injury had on you has a footballer?

R: It made me humble, it makes me think how lucky I am, when you see people with
disabilities who can’t play with the same able-ness as me, what is 8 months compared
to a lifetime. I’ve studies disability in sport as part of my degree, so it does humble
you and happy that you can play if you know what I mean?
I: What about your feelings regarding your ability?
R: I did think I would be behind, I mean my touch was off, my shooting was off, my
passing was off, but I hadn’t played in 8 months so I expected that to happen, but
once I was back in training and playing I was back to my old self, and back to trying
to improve myself.
I: Do you feel the experience will make you stronger?
R: Yeah it will make me work harder, I’m more passionate about the game.
I: What about the effects the injury had on you as a person?
R: I more sociable, obviously I wasn’t playing football on Saturday, I spent more time
with family and friends and got a girlfriend
I: So you would say being injured helped you improve relationships?
R: Yeah will friends and family, it’s been good in that sense
I: What about your general well-being?
R: Potentially, well I’m getting out more, seeing different people has been a confidence
boosts for me. It’s made me realise I need to keep a physical lifestyle as I go to the
gym a lot and I had to go less during this time and I saw differences so I’ve realised
the importance of this. If I ever have a loss of motivation, I can think back to this time
and push myself.
I: What personal factors that were important in your recovery?
R: Keeping active as much as a can, I mean going to the gym as well, the gym helped me
keep focus on my fitness, obviously I couldn’t play so I knew my fitness would
deteriorate, as soon as I could I was in the gym, even when my leg was in a brace I
would keep active as possible, doing upper body work even sometimes walks, I feel
just being active is important in keeping you motivated to not give up. I would
sometimes be watching football on TV occasionally, hearing about the lads doing
well in the league and cup, spending time with friends as family.
I: What situational factors did you feel were important?
R: Being out and about, being in an environment where I’m not surrounded by the same
four walls all the time, spending time with people I know
I: Was there any support from the club?

R: Texts, nothing in terms of training or physio, because it’s not a big club and those
things aren’t really compatible with a club of that size. But yeah the texts to show
interest, and keep an interest in how I was doing was always nice. Other things were
just staying around the game as much as I could, watching the lads. Speaking to them.
Just made me motivated to come back.
I: Which of these do you feel was the most influential?
R: Definitely getting out and about, keeping active, not focusing on the injury. Being
bored and not getting out is a bad thing, people do slip into bad places when they do
that sort of thing, not getting out and about. People lose their interest in the sport, like
you here about athletes losing motivation and coming back a completely different
player and person, I mean its visible to see. You see Owen Hargreaves, he looked like
he’d been to hell and back you know, his career didn’t quite recover from the injuries
he had, so I thought about that and made sure I came back to the same level if
possible
I: Which of these helped you adapt positively?
R: Gym definitely, keeping fit in the gym and keeping my upper body strength was key
for me, lower body work was a big help as well as my core strength which is also
needed in football. It enabled me to stay fit and keep healthy, it would help me focus
on my myself better than I was before which drove me to get back, now I am back I
am feeling the benefits.
I: What qualities do you feel enables you to be successful in returning?
R: My mind-set and my passion for sport got me motivated to get back into playing. I
keep relaxed, knowing I would get back and this time out wasn’t the end of the world,
and my love of the game just pushed me to stay fit
I: Where there any other qualities?
R: Well I think my positive outlook as I said, you need it to keep positive during
adversities such as injury, keeping the fire going.
I: Any examples of when you used this?
R: January time, I suffered a setback from the injury, I thought at that point it was time to
leave it for a season, just in a moment I lost interest in even bothering to come back
because it felt like I wasn’t going to recover for a while, I thought it might be one of
those injuries that might affect me for life, but it’s just a broken bone, so I realised
this negative thinking wasn’t helpful so I just knuckled down in the gym and starting
to think of the benefits.
I: What did motivate you to get back fit?

R: Speaking to the lads and watching a few games, I have two cousins in professional
football, talking to them was a big help, they helped me stay positive by telling me
about their experiences.
I: Was there other people who helped you through the process?
R: Yeah, I mean I grew up with all my mates playing football, some of them are pros
now, seeing these lads doing well on social media does make me want to get back into
it. Chatting to my mate in New Zealand who has broken his foot twice, so he knows
about my situation, he broke it whilst at forest academy and Nike academy so he
knows how to get through tough times.
I: Did you feel sure you could get back to your old self?
R: Yeah I was confident I would get back, I know I shouldn’t but I had the odd kick
about when I was injured, so I never thought I would lose my touch or anything
wasn’t salvageable so I think I was confident.
I: Did you feel you had any distractions during your recovery, and what were there
effect on your recovery?
R: Not really, maybe uni work, was a something that took my mind of football for a
while, but I suppose that was a good thing in the sense of keeping away from the
frustration side of things, I mean keeping my mind away from football completely and
when coming back being completely renewed and refreshed with fully charged
batteries, was helpful in my opinion
I: Any other distractions?
R: Not really
I: Where there any other qualities that you thought helped you?
R: Other people’s qualities helped me developed mine, people would say positive things
to me and it would make me go yeah, your right
I: Example?
R: I remember my girlfriend saying ‘you’ll be back into it soon, don’t worry about it’,
this reminded me strangely. People close to me have a big effect on me so them words
sort of regenerated my motivation
I: You’ve spoken about the gym a lot; do you feel like this was a positive distraction
that has helped you?
R: Yeah keeping active has definitely helped, during your injury if you can keep active,
in any way possible it can only help you, even if it’s just going swimming, lifting
weights anything really, it helped me focus on keeping fit.
I: What else from your injury experience that you feel helped you come back?

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