Abstract
The normalization of risk culture within sport injury has created an environment where athletes train and compete while injured despite the known health risks (Nixon, 1992, 1996; Wiese-Bjornstal, 2010). The pressure athletes feel from social network sources is a major factor thought to influence risk-taking behaviors related to training and competing while injured. As part of a larger study, examined was the risk subculture characterized by social network influences in the context of a demanding, high risk (i.e. injury) sport. Intercollegiate wrestlers (N = 195) at fifteen NCAA Division I universities participated by completing a survey including a demographics questionnaire and the Sport Network Pressure and Support Questionnaire. Descriptive analyzes revealed the two social network sources most frequently consulted when deciding whether to compete while injured were "always" coaches (44.6%) and athletic trainers (55.9%). Coaches (69.5%) and teammates (63.5%) were reported to "always" or "sometimes" pressure wrestlers to compete while injured. Pearson-product correlations revealed a moderate, positive correlation between frequency of injury and pressure by coaches, r = .33, r2 = .11, n = 186, p < .01, 95% CI [.19, .45] with higher frequencies of injury associated with higher frequency of pressure. Implications range from coach pressure leading to further injury and athletes fearful that they may be discarded as damaged goods if injury limits them from competition.Acknowledgments: My advisor Diane M. Wiese-Bjornstal and fellow student Hayley Russell for all their guidance and encouragement.