Abstract
People who identify as athletes are more likely to participate in sport, particularly in the face of barriers. People with acquired physical disabilities report lower athletic identity than those in the general population, as well as lower sport participation. The study objective was to explore narratives from individuals with an acquired physical disability to understand how and why athletic identity may change post injury. Participants with an acquired physical disability (n=11)participated in hour-long interviews that were grounded in multiple versions of identity theory. A structural analysis of the interviews identified different stories of sport and identity according to structure, tone, and time orientation. A categorical-content analysis highlighted key themes and patterns within, and between, participants. Non-athlete, athlete as a future self, and the present self as athlete narrative types emerged. The non-athlete narrative focused on physical changes in the body and experienced difficulties with disability and athletic identities that could not co-exist; more time was spent ruminating on past selves and lost possibilities for the future self as athlete. The other two narratives primarily focused on present sport behaviour and goals. Athletic identity was influenced directly by sport participation rather than loss of physical function; among those who returned to sport, peer athletes supported identity by encouraging new comers to play and by sharing sport experiences. The interviews extend theoretical understanding of identity by highlighting the impact behaviour and acquired physical disability have on sport participation as well as guide future sport promotion efforts for newly injured individuals.Acknowledgments: Research supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)