Mentor/s
Dr. Mary Ignagni, PhD
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
If student-athlete perceives that the costs of their sport outweigh the benefits, they receive from it they tend to have increased burnout rates and stress (Dubuc-Charbonneau and Durand-Bush 2015). As student-athletes progress ages through college, female athletes are more likely to have increased stress-related burnout rates and a negative impact on their well-being (Purvanova 2010).
Women experience higher rates of stress and have more chronic stress than men (Purvanova 2010; Matud 2004). Stress and burnout are inversely related to well-being. Positive well-being helps athletes build positive relationships with their teammates and feel as though they are making more of an impact athletically (Gabana et. al 2017; DeFreese and Smith 2014).
Female athletes may seek and rely more on social support to increase their well-being and feel more in control, suggesting that social support has a more impactful impact compared to men (Kneavel 2021; DeFreese and Smith 2014). For those in a team environment, social support is the main coping mechanism for many student-athletes. If a team environment or coach is perceived negatively by a student-athlete this proves to be harmful. If a coach does not implement protective measures for athletic well-being, their demands are deemed too high, or their attitudes too negative this can lead to increased burnout rates (Russell and Molina 2018; Lu et. al 2016).
Few studies have examined the differences between burnout and well-being in upperclassmen vs. underclassmen (especially concerning social support) or how gender affects the connections between social support, burnout, stress, and well-being. We predict that female student-athletes will experience higher burnout rates in all factors compared to men (Purvanova 2010; Kneavel 2021). Additionally, high team satisfaction and quality of social support (team and coaching) should have a lower burnout rate compared with low ratings in these categories (Stephen et. al 1988; Lu et. al 2016)). Next, individuals with a more positive outlook on their social environment and higher quality of social support have lower burnout rates and higher overall well-being (DeFreese and Smith 2014). Additionally, upperclassmen will have increased burnout rates and stress and/or decreased well-being compared to underclassmen. Finally, female student-athletes being coached by male coaches will experience higher burnout rates than those coached by female coaches, decreasing well-being (Cho et. al).
Data collection was conducted via a Qualtrics surveying system administered by the snowball method and SONA surveying. While data collection is still ongoing, a sample of n=108 is what was used for all data analysis. The demographics of participants were broken into their sex and gender (n=92 females), the gender of their head coach (n=57 females), age, and ethnicity. Additionally, participants gave their graduation year, scholarships received, the duration of the amount of time they have played their sport in college and prior to college, and their main or last sport played.
Athletes answered modified versions of the Athletic Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) (Raedeke and Smith 2009), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (Tennant et. al 2007), and Athlete Support Questionnaire (Riemer and Chelladurai 1998). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1(not satisfied), 4 (moderately satisfied), and 7 (extremely satisfied). These blocks were randomized per surveyor to mitigate any confounding sampling variables.
Independent Samples t-test was used to determine the statistical significance. Notable results of each survey’s subscales are below:
ABQ – Emotional and Physical Exhaustion Subscale: t(140) = 4.287, p = .001, d = .75
Female student-athletes with a male coach would experience higher emotional/physical exhaustion compared to a female coach.
ABQ – Overall Burnout Subscale: t(140)= 3.597, p= .001, d= .63
Female student-athletes with a male coach would have a higher burnout compared to a female coach
ASQ – Personal Treatment Subscale: t(140) = -2.050, p = .001, d = .36
Female student-athletes with a male coach have lower satisfaction with the personal treatment received from their coaches compared to female coaches
Well-Being Overall: t(169) = .1.794, p = .075, d = .38
Female student-athletes would have lower feelings of well-being compared to male student-athletes
Sample size impacts the ability to detect significance. While this is indicative of our university’s demographics it likely has a large effect on the significance of each subscale.
The data indicate that females have lower social support and well-being ratings and higher burnout averages compared to men as hypothesized. However, due to low significance levels, the hypotheses cannot be directly supported by the results. Female athletes may perceive their social support as inadequate to a larger extent compared to their male counterparts, leading to decreased well-being and therefore burnout.
The major limitation that arose during data collection and analysis was the small sample size. With a larger sample size, it may be easier to determine if the independent variable is truly a cause of the dependent or if they are simply correlated. Data collection will continue throughout the spring and be added to the quantitative analysis of the data set. This will also allow for more assembly of information about spring sports, as they were not in-season during the fall data collection period.
College and Major available
Biology
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Best Writing
Gender Differences in College Athletes Feelings of Burnout, Coaching Treatment, and Well-Being
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
If student-athlete perceives that the costs of their sport outweigh the benefits, they receive from it they tend to have increased burnout rates and stress (Dubuc-Charbonneau and Durand-Bush 2015). As student-athletes progress ages through college, female athletes are more likely to have increased stress-related burnout rates and a negative impact on their well-being (Purvanova 2010).
Women experience higher rates of stress and have more chronic stress than men (Purvanova 2010; Matud 2004). Stress and burnout are inversely related to well-being. Positive well-being helps athletes build positive relationships with their teammates and feel as though they are making more of an impact athletically (Gabana et. al 2017; DeFreese and Smith 2014).
Female athletes may seek and rely more on social support to increase their well-being and feel more in control, suggesting that social support has a more impactful impact compared to men (Kneavel 2021; DeFreese and Smith 2014). For those in a team environment, social support is the main coping mechanism for many student-athletes. If a team environment or coach is perceived negatively by a student-athlete this proves to be harmful. If a coach does not implement protective measures for athletic well-being, their demands are deemed too high, or their attitudes too negative this can lead to increased burnout rates (Russell and Molina 2018; Lu et. al 2016).
Few studies have examined the differences between burnout and well-being in upperclassmen vs. underclassmen (especially concerning social support) or how gender affects the connections between social support, burnout, stress, and well-being. We predict that female student-athletes will experience higher burnout rates in all factors compared to men (Purvanova 2010; Kneavel 2021). Additionally, high team satisfaction and quality of social support (team and coaching) should have a lower burnout rate compared with low ratings in these categories (Stephen et. al 1988; Lu et. al 2016)). Next, individuals with a more positive outlook on their social environment and higher quality of social support have lower burnout rates and higher overall well-being (DeFreese and Smith 2014). Additionally, upperclassmen will have increased burnout rates and stress and/or decreased well-being compared to underclassmen. Finally, female student-athletes being coached by male coaches will experience higher burnout rates than those coached by female coaches, decreasing well-being (Cho et. al).
Data collection was conducted via a Qualtrics surveying system administered by the snowball method and SONA surveying. While data collection is still ongoing, a sample of n=108 is what was used for all data analysis. The demographics of participants were broken into their sex and gender (n=92 females), the gender of their head coach (n=57 females), age, and ethnicity. Additionally, participants gave their graduation year, scholarships received, the duration of the amount of time they have played their sport in college and prior to college, and their main or last sport played.
Athletes answered modified versions of the Athletic Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) (Raedeke and Smith 2009), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (Tennant et. al 2007), and Athlete Support Questionnaire (Riemer and Chelladurai 1998). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1(not satisfied), 4 (moderately satisfied), and 7 (extremely satisfied). These blocks were randomized per surveyor to mitigate any confounding sampling variables.
Independent Samples t-test was used to determine the statistical significance. Notable results of each survey’s subscales are below:
ABQ – Emotional and Physical Exhaustion Subscale: t(140) = 4.287, p = .001, d = .75
Female student-athletes with a male coach would experience higher emotional/physical exhaustion compared to a female coach.
ABQ – Overall Burnout Subscale: t(140)= 3.597, p= .001, d= .63
Female student-athletes with a male coach would have a higher burnout compared to a female coach
ASQ – Personal Treatment Subscale: t(140) = -2.050, p = .001, d = .36
Female student-athletes with a male coach have lower satisfaction with the personal treatment received from their coaches compared to female coaches
Well-Being Overall: t(169) = .1.794, p = .075, d = .38
Female student-athletes would have lower feelings of well-being compared to male student-athletes
Sample size impacts the ability to detect significance. While this is indicative of our university’s demographics it likely has a large effect on the significance of each subscale.
The data indicate that females have lower social support and well-being ratings and higher burnout averages compared to men as hypothesized. However, due to low significance levels, the hypotheses cannot be directly supported by the results. Female athletes may perceive their social support as inadequate to a larger extent compared to their male counterparts, leading to decreased well-being and therefore burnout.
The major limitation that arose during data collection and analysis was the small sample size. With a larger sample size, it may be easier to determine if the independent variable is truly a cause of the dependent or if they are simply correlated. Data collection will continue throughout the spring and be added to the quantitative analysis of the data set. This will also allow for more assembly of information about spring sports, as they were not in-season during the fall data collection period.
Students' Information
Erin Burgess: biology major, minor in chemistry and honors, graduating 2023