The Relationship of Perceived Social Support and Perceived Stress to Life Satisfaction Among Injured College Athletes: Severity of Injury Effects

Participants were 41 college athletes with minor to severe injuries who were forced to sit out of practice or competition for at least 3 days due to their injury. Male (N=23) and female (N=18) athletes ranged in age from eighteen to twenty five years (M=21.22, SD=1.28). Eighteen subjects had major injuries, 14 had moderate injuries, and 9 had minor injuries. Injured college athletes completed measures of perceived social support, perceived stress and satisfaction with life. There were established significant effects for perceived stress upon life satisfaction and for perceived stress and perceived social support interaction in the college athletes with major injury. Perceived stress had more of a negative effect on the life satisfaction of the athletes with major injury than on the life satisfaction of the athletes with minor/moderate injury. Perceived stress and perceived social support were the major contributors to the prediction of the life satisfaction among injured college athletes' with major injury than of the athletes with minor/moderate injury. The findings confirm the stress buffering effect of social support, i.e., an interaction between social support and stress such that social support has more impact on life satisfaction under conditions of high stress.