Jenna Wing

Date of Award

January 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Kinesiology & Public Health Education

First Advisor

Sandra Moritz

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to identify if current Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) understand the importance of consistent use of sport psychology, specifically goal setting, in the athletic training room with injured athletes. Participants (n = 77) were current ATCs who have been certified by the Board of Certification (BOC), who had proper licensure in their designated districts, and were members of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). A questionnaire was created to assess the frequency with which they used goal setting, how important and effective they feel goal setting is, and how prepared they feel to use goal setting. In addition, there were questions to determine how knowledgeable participants were on goal setting, barriers they feel stop them from using goal setting with injured athletes on a regular basis, and future education interests to more effectively use goal setting in everyday practice. As hypothesized, the results showed that despite being knowledgeable about goal setting and understanding the importance of goal setting, ATCs did not feel adequately prepared to use it on a daily basis. ATC’s set physical health goals more regularly than they did mental health goals. Results showed that lack of time was a major barrier associated with using goal setting on a regular basis. ATCs were interested in possible future education opportunities and feel like they would be able to provide better services to their athletes with more education.

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