The art of recoverying : benchmarking and identity salvaging among injured athletes
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This study explores sense-making and identity strategies of athletes managing pain and injury both personally and socially. In- depth interviews were conducted with athletes from either organized sporting leagues or corporate sport programs. This study suggests that athletes may utilize the sense-making resources of "apocryphal assessment" and "shock testing" in order to interpret their pain and/or injury. In addition, the identity strategies of buffering, eclipsing and eulogizing are used by athletes to socially manage pain and injuries in their sports with regard to his/her role as athlete. The sense-making resources and identity strategies articulated in this study have potential application to other social contexts outside of sports.
Degree
Ph. D.
Thesis Department
Rights
Access is limited to the campus of the University of Missouri--Columbia.