A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY

STRESS AND SELF-CONCEPT IN ATHLETES

UNDERGOING PHYSIOTHERAPY

Name: Bhargavi Ojale

PRN No.: 1102220014
Mentor Name: Dr. Heenakshi Bhansali

Dr. Vishwanath Karad MITWPU School of Pharmacy

 Introduction

This study explores how psychological aspects and physical healing interact intricately with athletes
receiving physiotherapy for accidents or injuries sustained while participating in sports. The study aims to
shed light on the major impact that these psychological states have on the rehabilitation process by
concentrating on the dimensions of depression, anxiety, stress, and self-concept. Sports injuries can set off a
chain reaction of emotions, from anxiety over diminished performance to worry over a protracted recovery
time. The study reveals the complex web of emotions that athletes traverse during their healing process by
looking at the prevalence and degree of sadness, anxiety, and stress in this setting. The study also covers the
area of self-concept because athletes' ideas of their own identities and skills may change after an injury.
Healthcare professionals can customize physiotherapy interventions to fully address the psychological
components of healing in addition to the physical ones by identifying the underlying emotional and cognitive
variables. Sports healthcare providers may encourage comprehensive healing, inspire resilience, and facilitate
athletes' return to peak performance by understanding the significant linkages between psychological well-
being and physical rehabilitation.
 Literature Review
Research Findings References
Influence of Stress and According to the findings, tension and anxiety are two key Pal, S., Kalra, S., & Awasthi, S. (2021).
Anxiety on Sports Injuries in psychological factors that have been linked to injury risk in various Influence of stress and anxiety on sports
Athletes sports and have been found to be significantly correlated with the injuries in athletes. Journal of Clinical and
Sajjan Pal, Sheetal Kalra and frequency of sports injuries among athletes from various sports. It Diagnostic Research.
Supriya Awasthi has been discovered that anxiety and stress can have an impact on https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2021/45973.14
an athlete's risk of injury, frequency of injury, and severity of 702
injury.

Psychosocial Responses During The findings imply that the three phases of rehabilitation and the Clement, D., Arvinen-Barrow, M., &
Different Phases of Sport-Injury integrated model of psychological response can help us better Fetty, T. (2015). Psychosocial Responses
Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study understand how physical and psychosocial elements interact when during Different Phases of Sport-Injury
treating sports injuries. This knowledge will help athletic trainers Rehabilitation: A Qualitative study.
Damien Clement, Monna Arvinen- treat injured athletes better. Journal of Athletic Training, 50(1), 95–
Barrow and Terry Fetty 104. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-
49.3.52
Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Compared to team sport athletes, individual sport athletes are more Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely To
Likely To Suffer Anxiety or likely to report experiencing anxiety and depression. Individual Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual
Depression than Individual Sport sport athletes and individuals who play team sports may benefit Sport Athletes. (2019, August
Athletes differently from organized activities in terms of their mental health. 1).PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3
Pluhar, McCracken, Griffith, 1427871/
Christino, Sugimoto and Meehan
The impact of injury on In addition to highlighting the ongoing stigma surrounding Akkaya, N. (2022). The impact of
depression in athletes: a mental health in sports, this systematic analysis investigates injury on depression in athletes: a
systematic review athletes' emotional reactions to injuries. Future study should systematic review review.
Nergis Akkaya use more precise terms for injuries and depression. The Pepperdine Digital Commons.
review's goal is to improve coaches' and sports personnel's
knowledge of athletes' mental health by synthesizing current
material, helping to build standardized mental health screening
instruments for athletes.

Professional Footballers’ The crucial discovery was that long-term injuries frequently Gervis, M., Pickford, H., & Hau, T.
Association Counselors’ had psychological and behavioral effects, leading to the mental (2019). Professional Footballers’
Perceptions of the Role health issues that were frequently brought up to PFA Association Counselors’ perceptions
Long-Term Injury Plays in counselors. Counselors advised long-term wounded players to
Mental Health Issues have early and consistent psychological intervention as a of the role Long-Term injury plays
Presented by Current and safeguard against developing mental health problems. in mental health issues presented by
Former Players current and former players. Journal
of Clinical Sport Psychology, 13(3),
Misia Gervis, Helen 451–468.
Pickford and Thomas Hau https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2018-
0049

5
 Methodology
Aim/Objective

Studying correlation of depression, anxiety stress and self-concept in athletes undergoing physiotherapy.

Research Statement

To explore the correlation between the presence of depression, anxiety stress and self-concept amongst sports players
who are undergoing physiotherapy.
Hypothesis

Null hypothesis (H0):

There is a positive correlation between the symptoms of Depression, Stress, Anxiety and Self-Concept in athletes
undergoing physiotherapy.
Tools

1. Consent form

2. Case History Form (Demographic Details)

3. Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21: It is a widely used self-report questionnaire in clinical psychology. It asseses
depression, anxiety and stress levels through a set of written questions.

4. Self Concept Questionnaire by R. K. Saraswat: This scale is developed by R.K. Saraswat in 1984 and contains 48
statements assessing 6 domains, physical, social, temperamental, educational, moral and intellectual.

Sample Description

The data that will be collected through this research study will include athletes under the age group 15-35 years of age,
both males and females of Indian nationality. The athletes would be someone who should have played in high school,
college, or university competitions as well as for some local, regional, or international businesses and would be someone
receiving physiotherapy treatment at the moment and for a period of not less than 2 months. He/she would not be
diagnosed with any mental health disorder at any given time. Purposive method of sampling would be employed in this
research study. It will take approximately 40-45 minutes to conduct the interviews. The sample size considered for this
study is 60 athletes.
Sample Inclusion Criteria

Athletes of Indian nationality, aged between 15 and 35, will be included in the data that will be gathered through
this research study. The participants would be athletes currently undergoing physical therapy treatment for a
minimum of two months who should have participated in high school, college, or university contests as well as for
some local, regional, or multinational businesses. At any one time, he or she would not have a current diagnosis of a
mental health condition.

Sample Exclusion Criteria

The participants should not be someone who is not undergoing physiotherapy at the given moment and has never
been diagnosed with any mental health disorder.

Plan of Analysis

After analyzing participants who fall into the criteria, they will be briefed about the research and consent forms
would be taken from the participants. A printed questionnaire would be given to them and they would be asked to
respond to the questionnaire in as honest a manner as possible. After the results are concluded, the participants
would be briefed about the results.
Research Design

The Correlational Research approach will be used in this study to identify if there is a link between depression, anxiety,
stress, and self-concept in athletes undergoing physiotherapy. It is a type of nonexperimental study in which the researcher
examines two variables and assesses their statistical relationship (i.e., the correlation) with little or no effort to control for
extrinsic variables.

Data Analysis

The Pearson correlation coefficient will be utilized to determine whether there is a link between depression, anxiety, stress,
and self-concept in athletes undergoing physiotherapy. The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) calculates the degree of
linear correlation between two sets of data. It is the product of the covariances and standard deviations of two variables;
thus, it is effectively a normalized measurement of covariance, with the result always falling between 1 and 1.

Ethical or Political Issues

No ethical or political issues have been identified so far.

 Limitations

1. Difficulty of meeting the number of participants as not all athletes approach a physiotherapist for the treatment

2. Difficulty obtaining authentic answers that are non-fabricated and neutral in nature

3. Location of the sample, i.e. the participants would be residents of Thane, Mumbai and Pune city and will not be all
inclusive

4. Age group of the athletes, the criteria set for this study is 15-35 years of age and there might be players who are
above this age group, still playing actively and seeking physiotherapy.

5. Criteria that the athletes should be undergoing physiotherapy for at least 2 months, if this criteria is relaxed there
could be an increase in the number of participants.

9
Applications

• This research can be considered as significant in order to understand the effects of treatments by
physiotherapists on the sports players who have been injured or met with an accident while playing the sport on
the mental health of the sports players.

• Depression, anxiety and stress are the mental health disorders majorly found in the sports players as well as the
general population too. This will be helpful for the physiotherapist to plan the treatment strategies for the sports
players for an enhanced and improved health.

• This will also benefit the sports psychologists who are treating the sports players and eventually plan the
course of their treatment as well.
 References
• Pal, S., Kalra, S., & Awasthi, S. (2021). Influence of stress and anxiety on sports injuries in athletes. Journal of
Clinical and Diagnostic Research. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2021/45973.14702

• Clement, D., Arvinen-Barrow, M., & Fetty, T. (2015). Psychosocial Responses during Different Phases of Sport-
Injury Rehabilitation: A Qualitative study. Journal of Athletic Training, 50(1), 95–104.
https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.52

• Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely To Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual Sport Athletes. (2019,
August 1). PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31427871/

• Akkaya, N. (2022). The impact of injury on depression in athletes: a systematic review review. Pepperdine Digital
Commons.

• Gervis, M., Pickford, H., & Hau, T. (2019). Professional Footballers’ Association Counselors’ perceptions of the
role Long-Term injury plays in mental health issues presented by current and former players. Journal of Clinical
Sport Psychology, 13(3), 451–468. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2018-0049