Psychological traits regarding competitiveness are related to the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injury in high school female athletes

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological competitive ability and the incidence of noncontact ACL injuries among high school female athletes.MethodsA three-year prospective cohort study was conducted using 300 15-year-old high school female athletes with no previous injuries or symptoms in their lower limbs (106 handball players and 194 basketball players). At baseline, their psychological competitive abilities were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire—the Diagnostic Inventory of Psychological Competitive Ability (DIPCA.3). After the baseline examination was performed at high school entry, all players were prospectively followed for 36 months to document any subsequent incidence of ACL injury, according to their coaches. An unpaired t-test with Welch's correction was performed to compare the differences in the psychological competitive abilities between the injured and uninjured players.ResultsOf the 300 players, 25 (8.3%) experienced a noncontact ACL injury during the three-year observation period. The injured players had significantly higher total DIPCA.3 scores for psychological competitive ability than the uninjured players (169.9 ± 18.8 vs. 159.2 ± 21.6, P = .036). Additionally, the injured players had significantly higher scores than the uninjured players in the following categories: aggressiveness, volition for self-realization, volition for winning, judgment, and cooperation. However, no significant differences were observed in patience, self-control, ability to relax, concentration, confidence, decision, and predictive ability.ConclusionsHigh psychological competitive ability was associated with the incidence of noncontact ACL injuries in high school female athletes.Level of evidenceLevel II (prospective cohort study).