Conflictuel ou enrichissement ? Suivi hebdomadaire des relations entre les interactions de rôle des étudiant·s-athlètes et leur bien-être

Abstract

International audienceIntroductionDue to the multiple demands of each career, student-athletes are especially at risk of wellbeing impairment. By meeting the demands, resources consumed in one role (e.g., athlete) may not be available in the other role (e.g., student): this is role conflict (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Alternatively, the experiences lived in one role could provide resources usable in the other role: this is role enrichment (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006). Role interactions (i.e. conflict and enrichment) are likely to influence student-athletes well-being. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the within-subject relationships between resources (i.e., mental rest), contextual demands, role interactions and contextual well-being indicators among student-athletes.MethodParticipants were thirty-three French student-athletes (women = 15) who responded to a weekly online questionnaire across five months, assessing their perceived mental rest, role interactions, demands, stress, and satisfaction in academic and athletic contexts.ResultsMultilevel analyses showed that after controlling for contextual demands, mental rest, age and gender, both school and sport stress were predicted (β = [.11 to .14], p <.05) by sport-to-school and school-to-sport conflicts. In addition, sport-to-school enrichment was also negatively related to sport stress (β = -.18, p <.001). School satisfaction was negatively predicted by sport-to-school conflict (β = -.13, p = .011) and positively by school-to-sport enrichment (β = .26, p <.001). Finally, sport satisfaction was negatively predicted by school-to-sport conflict (β = -.12, p <.05) and positively by sport-to-school enrichment (β = .23, p < .001). The four models predicted between 16% and 38% of the within-subject variance in contextual well-being.DiscussionThe results of this study contribute to research on student-athlete well-being by showing (1) that contextual stress and satisfaction vary significantly across weeks at the within-subject level, and (2) that sport-school role interactions predict contextual well-being, just as work-family role interactions predict organizational and family well-being. From a practical perspective, evidence of the relationships between demands, role interactions, and wellbeing could help student-athlete supervisors become aware of the need for specific dual-career management and help student-athletes manage their dual careers more effectively.ReferencesGreenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of Conflict between Work and Family Roles. The Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76. https://doi.org/10.2307/258214Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When Work And Family Are Allies: A Theory Of Work-Family Enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.1937962