EFFECT OF GOAL SETTING ON INJURY REHABILITATION OUTCOMES OF ATHLETES IN NORTH-CENTRAL GEOPOLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

This study investigated the effect of Goal Setting on injury rehabilitation outcomes among injured athletes in North-Central Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted, involving 38 injured athletes undergoing rehabilitation, with 20 athletes in Benue State constituting the experimental group and 18 athletes in Kwara State constituting the control group. A total enumeration sampling technique was employed due to the small and accessible population of injured athletes, thereby reducing sampling bias within the study context. A total enumeration sampling technique was employed due to the small and accessible population of injured athletes, thereby reducing sampling bias within the study context. Face and content validity were established by experts in Sports Psychology and Measurement and Evaluation, while reliability testing using the Cronbach Alpha method yielded coefficients of 0.84 for the I-PRRS and 0.81 for the rehabilitation screening checklist, indicating high internal consistency.. Data collection occurred in three phases pre-test, intervention, and post-test to measure changes attributable to the intervention. The data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to control for pre-test differences between the experimental and control groups.. Findings revealed a significant effect of Goal Setting on injury rehabilitation outcomes (F(1,35) = 110.81, p < .05, partial η² = .79), showing that structured goal-setting strategies improved athletes’ psychological readiness and motivation for return-to-play. No significant interaction effects were found for gender or type of sport, indicating that no statistically detectable differences in the influence of goal setting were observed across male and female athletes or between individual and team sports. It was concluded that Goal Setting is an effective psychological intervention for enhancing rehabilitation outcomes among injured athletesIt was therefore recommended that sports psychologists incorporate structured goal-setting techniques into rehabilitation programmes, that coaches apply these strategies without gender bias, and that sports administrators consider integrating goal-setting interventions within similar sports rehabilitation contexts.