The effect of personal goals, self-efficacy, and self-satisfaction on injury rehabilitation

This study examined the effect of goal setting on injury rehabilitation, specifically, differences in personal goal setting, self-efficacy, self-satisfaction, and performance between injured and noninjured subjects. Two experimental groups (32 women with knee injuries and 29 noninjured women) and one control group (PZ = 30) were used. Subjects performed four trials of a knee extension task on an isokinetic dynamometer. Prior to the third and fourth trials, subjects in the experimental groups set personal goals and completed self-efficacy and self-satisfaction scales. There were significant performance improvements for the two experimental groups; correlation coefficients between self-efficacy, self-satisfaction, goal setting, and performance were significant at the .001 level. Personal goal setting was affected by level of ability and in turn had a direct effect on performance. Self-efficacy and self-satisfaction were affected by ability or performance but had no significant effect on personal goals or performance. The findings indicate that personal goal setting might be an important determinant for performance improvement in injury rehabilitation programs.