Context:

Injured athletes begin the rehabilitation process with expectations about the nature of the working relationship with an athletic trainer. These expectations can infuence the effectiveness of the assistance provided.

Objective:

To determine whether male and female athletes differed in terms of expectations about injury rehabilitation services with an athletic trainer.

Design:

A questionnaire was administered to student athletes that assessed expectations about injury rehabilitation. Setting: Five colleges and universities.

Patients or Other Participants:

Questionnaire responses were provided by 679 student athletes (443 males and 236 females).

Main Outcome Measure:

Responses to the Expectations about Athletic Training questionnaire were used to assess factors identifed as Personal Commitment, Facilitative Conditions, Athletic Trainer Expertise, and Realism.

Results:

A statistically signifcant interaction between gender and prior experience was identifed. Male athletes with no prior experience had lower expectations for a facilitative environment. Female athletes with prior experience were less likely to have realistic expectations.

Conclusions:

Gender and prior experience infuence athletes’ expectations of injury rehabilitation with an athletic trainer.