Attributions for recovery and adherence to sport injury rehabilitation

The relations of causal attributions for recovery from knee surgery to recovery rate and rehabilitation adherence were examined in a sample of 34 recreational or competitive athletes. Subjects rated their open-ended attributions for recovery on the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). Subjects who perceived themselves as recovering rapidly made more stable, personally controllable, and externally controllable attributions than subjects who perceived themselves as recovering slowly. Subjects designated by their physical therapist/athletic trainer (PT/AT) as recovering rapidly tended to attribute their rehabilitation progress to more internal and personally controllable factors than subjects identified as recovering slowly. Causal dimension ratings predicted PT/AT rehabilitation adherence ratings, but not attendance at rehabilitation sessions.