Relationship between role conflict and satisfaction and performance of intercollegiate student-athletes

The primary purpose of this research investigation was to assess the relationship between the degree of role conflict experienced by intercollegiate student-athletes and student-athlete satisfaction and performance. This study also examined the relationship between role conflict and demographic characteristics and role importance.

Subjects for the investigation were student athletes enrolled at an NCAA Division I public university located in the southeastern United States. All 510 varsity student-athletes within the athletic department made up the population for the study. The Student Athlete Questionnaire was distributed to a stratified (by race and sport) random sample of 318 (62.4%) subjects. A total of 220 subjects (69.1%) returned the survey. Data were collected over an eight-week period during the second semester of the 1986-87 academic year.

Role conflict was found to be negatively related to satisfaction and academic performance measures. Student-athletes who experienced more role conflict were less satisfied academically (r = -.19, p < .01), athletically (r = -.24, p < .001), and socially (r = .29, p < .001). These individuals also scored lower on the academic performance scale (r = -.42, p < .001), rated their overall academic performance lower relative to both their teammates (r = -.24, p < .001) and their own expectations (r = -.14, p < .05), reported lower grade point averages (r = -.35, p < .001), and skipped class more often (r = .17, p < .01) than student-athletes who experienced less role conflict.

Role conflict was found to be positively related or not related at all to athletic performance measures. student-athletes who experienced more role conflict rated their overall athletic performance higher than that of their teammates (r = .16, p < .05), and they devoted more scheduled practice time (r = .21, p < .01) and more total hours (r = .23, p < .001) to their sport each week than student-athletes who experienced less role conflict. Student-athletes who experienced more role conflict also felt that being an athlete was more important to them than being a student (r = .30, p < .001).

Multiple regression analysis and Discriminant Function analysis performed for the entire sample indicated that student-athletes who experienced higher levels of role conflict tended to exhibit characteristics more typical of athletes than students. According to these analyses, student-athletes who experienced more role conflict tended to do less well academically while they devoted more time to their sport and felt that being an athlete was more important to them than being a student.