ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical commentary on some empirical and theoretical gaps in the literature on emotions among injured athletes. A critique of the literature considers the way emotions are conceptualized and measured, the limited range of emotions that have been studied during their injury process, and the limited attention to interpersonal processes influencing athletes’ emotional experiences. Several suggestions are made to advance the literature, including the use of contemporary theoretical perspectives of emotion, the continued use of idiographic and longitudinal methodological approaches to examine the complex changes in athletes’ emotions over time, and further examination of athletes’ emotional processing using disclosure paradigms and trauma-informed approaches.
