Athletic Identity and Sport Injury Processes and Outcomes in Young Athletes: A Supplemental Narrative Review

Abstract

Background: Identity formation, a primary developmental task of adolescence, may be particularly relevant to another commonly occurring event for young athletes—sport injury. Relationships between a subdimension of self-identity—athletic identity—and sport injury processes and outcomes have been documented in the general athlete population. The purpose of this supplemental narrative review is to explore the potential role of athletic identity in the risk of injury occurrence and responses to and consequences of injury among young athletes. Methods: Studies on athletic identity in relation to sport injury, with a focus on young athletes, were extracted from a recent scoping review and identified through an updated literature search from April 2020 through June 2024. A total of 23 studies were examined. Results: Across the studies reviewed, high levels of athletic identity were associated with a reluctance to report injury-related symptoms, a tendency to endorse attitudes and behaviors reflecting a willingness to play through pain and injury, intensified physical and psychological symptoms after injury, a disposition toward over-adhering to rehabilitation, high levels of postinjury coping skills, and better functional and return-to-sport outcomes after injury among young athletes. Conclusions: Athletic identity may, therefore, be a source of both strength and vulnerability in young athletes in terms of sport injury processes and outcomes.