Off the Field, On the Mind: The Relationship Between Injury, Identity, and Eating Habits in Recreational Athletes

Sammanfattning

This study examined differences between sport-specific and general eating behaviours in recreational athletes and investigated whether injury severity, athletic identity, and conformity to masculine norms predicted eating-related outcomes following sport injury. The original sample consisted of N = 161 recreational athletes; however, after applying the exclusion criteria and including only injured participants, the final sample comprised N = 106 recreational athletes (50 men, 56 women). Participants completed measures assessing sport-specific disordered eating (ADE), non-sport-specific eating behaviours (TFEQ-R21), athletic identity (EIS), masculinity norms (CMNI-22), and injury severity. Results showed significantly higher endorsement of sport-specific disordered eating behaviours compared to general eating behaviours, particularly among men (d = 0.66). Injury severity (β = 0.41, p = 0.002; β = 0.40, p = 0.003 for men and women respectively) emerged as the only consistent predictor of eating-related outcomes, with greater injury severity associated with higher sport-specific disordered eating attitudes across both gender groups. Athletic identity and conformity to masculine norms were not significant predictors. Gender comparisons further indicated that sport-specific disordered eating attitudes appeared more strongly associated with the examined predictors among men (R² = 0.31) than women (R² = 0.18) , with male athletes also showing greater differences between sport-specific and general eating behaviours. The findings suggest that injury may represent a vulnerable period for maladaptive eating attitudes in recreational athletes and highlight the importance of sport-specific assessment tools in identifying disordered eating tendencies.