TITLE:
Role of Religious Beliefs and Practices on the Mental Health of Athletes with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
AUTHORS:
Amira Najah, Abdulaziz Farooq, Riadh Ben Rejeb
KEYWORDS:
Religion, Spiritualty, Coping, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Athlete
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.7 No.2,
May
22,
2017
ABSTRACT: The present study examined the effects of religion and spirituality practices and beliefs on emotional and psychological outcomes among professional athlete with anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) injury. Methods: A sample of professional athletes (n = 50) with ACL injury and prior to surgery participated in this study. Participants completed Brief Cope Inventory (BCI) and Depression Anxiety & Stress Scale (DASS 21). From the responses to specific items related to religion and spirituality, participants were classified as high or low in religious/spiritual belief (RSH or RSL respectively); and as high and low in their praying/meditation practice (PMH or PML respectively). Results: RSH participants reported better scores on overall coping 8.3 ± 11.4, acceptance 6.7 ± 1.7, self-distraction 6.2 ± 1.8, use of emotional support 6.9 ± 1.5. Reduced depression 10.6 ± 13.0, anxiety 14.0 ± 18.6 and stress 8.6 ± 14.2 compared to RSL (p ≤ 0.05). PMH group had better scores on overall coping 84.0 ± 11.8 and use of emotional support 6.9 ± 1.6 compared to PML P = 0.004 and P = 0.007 respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that belief and practice of religion/spirituality play a central role in the processes of reconstructing the coping strategies and reducing depression, anxiety and stress.