The coach-athletic trainer relationship and its association with athletic trainers' job satisfaction
The purpose of this study was to examine if Division I Collegiate Athletic Trainers' (ATs') perceived.quality of their relationship, with a head coach, is associated with total job satisfaction. The study was driven by three questions: 1) Does a correlation exist between ATs' perceptions of the quality of the coach-AT relationship and total job satisfaction? 2) Will either the direct or the meta-perspective held by the AT be significant predictors of overall job satisfaction? and 3) Will ATs' assumed similarity be a significant predictor of overall job satisfaction? In order to examine this issue, ATs assigned to NCAA division I institution's baseball or softball team were given a compendium survey. The survey was composed of the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1994), a modified Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q) (Jowett & Ntoumanis, 2004), and a modified meta Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (meta CART-Q). The surveys measured ATs' total job satisfaction.and satisfaction with various job sub factors, and their direct and meta-perspectives of their relationship with their coach, respectively. Correlational and regression analyses were used to determine the influence and predictability of aspects of a quality relationship to total job satisfaction. The findings demonstrate that ATs' perception of the quality of certain aspects of their relationship with a head coach is related to overall job satisfaction. This indicates that greater efforts need to be taken to improve overall coach-AT relationship dynamics. Improving the dynamics is needed to improve conditions that can cause unacceptably low levels of job satisfaction, which lead to burnout and attrition. The quality of the coach-AT relationship and its impact on Job satisfaction needs to be recognized as a contributing factor to AT job satisfaction. Understanding the coach-AT relationship can help direct measures to address decreased job satisfaction levels and stave off attrition in athletic training.
Athletic trainers Job satisfaction United States;Coaches (Athletics);Universities and colleges Professional staff;Relationship quality, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sports Sciences, Sports Studies
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