DEVELOPMENT WITH INITIAL VALIDATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL READINESS TO RETURN TO SPORT QUESTIONNAIRE

Sports therapists are efficient in rehabilitating physical aspects of sports related injuries; however, health care providers have been somewhat remiss in recognizing and addressing psychological issues that may impact sports performance. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to accurately assess an athlete’s psychological readiness to return to competition after a sports related injury. Questions were developed for possible use in the Readiness to Return to Sport Questionnaire with assistance from sports rehabilitation therapists, who assessed the items for face validity. Only items receiving 100% agreement were chosen for the 24-item Likert format pilot study questionnaire. A total of 170 athletes competing in various sports collegiately, semi-professionally, and professionally completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the participants was 23.41. Utilizing an exploratory factor analysis, pilot study results indicated that the questionnaire is reliable in determining an athlete’s psychological readiness to return to competition after injury.