Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

South African Distance Runners: Issues Involving Their International Careers During And After Apartheid, Carrie A. Lane

Masters Theses

While some sports in South Africa have a distinct racial identity, distance running is one of the most popular sports in the country for people of all ethnic backgrounds. This study examined the issues that South African distance runners faced from the time the country was banned from Olympic competition, in 1968, to the present day. It profiled 21 male and female elite and collegiate runners who have competed in the United States from 1980 to 1999.

Because of South Africa's apartheid government, which legalized racial segregation and inequality, South African sport was excluded from international competition for 32 years. …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Personality Type And Emotional Response To Athletic Injury, Jasmin C. R. Hutchinson

Masters Theses

This investigation was designed to examine emotional response to athletic injury using personality constructs within reversal theory. Twenty-five (male = 19, female = 6) collegiate athletes, ranging in age from 18 to 22 years (mean = 19.95, SD = 1.11) who sustained a minimal criteria injury during a six-week data collection period participated in this study. Each athlete's total mood disturbance (TMD) was measured pre-injury and post-injury using the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Athlete's personality orientation was measured using the Paratelic Dominance Scale (PDS). A dependent t-test indicated a significant increase in TMD scores following injury (p < 0.05), thus indicating overall mood disturbance in injured athletes. An independent t-test comparing paratelic and telic dominant athletes on TMD difference scores revealed non-significant results (p = 0.40). Methodological and theoretical reasons for this are examined and implications for further study of reversal theory and athletic injury are discussed.