The Psychology of Sports Injuries in Children and Adolescents: Psychosocial, Developmental, and Recovery Aspects to Injury

Participation in sports and the presence of sports injuries have a lasting impact on youth athletes’ physical, cognitive, and emotional development and sense of self-identity. There is an ongoing growth in participation in sports for youth, as well as growing literature on the epidemiology and outcomes of sports-related injuries. However, there is a paucity of published research regarding the psychological aspects of sports injury, including psychosocial factors, stressors, and responses, from the perspective of young athletes. Key risk factors include the youth’s sex, the types of sports activity, and any previous injuries. Psychosocial models, such as the stress-injury model, help explore such risk factors and their relationship to outcomes of stress. Implications for sports injury outcomes vary within the pediatric population, and the recovery and rehabilitation process requires integrated healthcare to optimize health and mental health outcomes. This review aims to describe the psychosocial factors related to sports injuries in children and adolescents, provide an understanding of sports injury models for youth athletes, and point to recovery and prevention through integrated behavioral health interventions. Based on a literature search, we identified 40 articles most relevant to our aims to explore psychosocial factors and stressors, predisposing and risk factors, and developmental aspects of sports injuries in children and adolescents.