From Social Support to Adherence : The Mediating Role of Motivation in Athletes´ Rehabilitation

The aim of the present study was to examine whether motivation regulations mediate the relationship between social support and rehabilitation adherence among injured athletes. A total of 81 athletes (49 women and 32 men), aged 15– 59 years (M = 22.74, SD = 6.46), participated while undergoing rehabilitation for severe sports injury. Participants completed a digital questionnaire assessing the dimensions recovery support, understanding and respect, empathy and acceptance, and sense of belonging in social support (SSQIA), autonomous and controlled motivation (TSRQ), and rehabilitation adherence (RAQ). The results showed that social support had statistically significant positive indirect effects on adherence via autonomous motivation across all four support dimensions. No significant indirect effects were found via controlled motivation. These finding suggest that social support promotes rehabilitation adherence primarily by enhancing athletes ́ autonomous motivation.