Goal Orientation and Desire for Approval are Associated with Sports Injuries among Young Japanese Athletes

Introduction This study aimed to clarify the relationship between psychological factors (goal orientation and desire for approval from others) and the severity of sports injuries experienced by young Japanese athletes. Methods 560 young Japanese athletes (males = 328 and females = 232) aged 18–24 years completed an online survey in 2022–2023. A web questionnaire was used to investigate participants’ task and ego orientations, desire for approval from others (e.g., coaches and friends/families), and history of injury. The samples were then split into three groups based on the rest duration due to the injury: non-injury group (0 days), mild-to-moderate injury group (1–27 days), and severe injury group (> 28 days). Spearman's test examined a correlation between task and ego orientation scores among all samples. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the scores between the severe injury and non-injury groups. Result A significant positive correlation was found between task and ego orientation scores from all samples (rho = 0.27, p < 0.001). The severe injury group had significantly higher task orientation scores and desire for approval scores than those of the non-injury group (ཐ=0.001, p < 0 .001). Conclusions Japanese young athletes with high task orientation and approval desire may be at risk of severe sports injuries requiring more than 4 weeks to return to sports. The goal orientation profiles should be interpreted with caution. Future research should examine contextual effects such as the perceived motivational climate, in addition to the goal orientation profiles.