Life-Stress Sources and Symptoms of Collegiate Student Athletic Trainers Over the Course of an Academic Year.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of life-stress sources that student athletic trainers encountered over the course of an academic year, to investigate the existence of sex differences in stress source symptoms, and to provide athletic training staffs with suggestions on ways to assist student athletic trainers. DESIGN AND SETTING: In a classroom setting, the 25-item Quick Stress Questionnaire (QSQ) was administered to all subjects at the beginning of each month during an academic year. The QSQ, which can be completed in approximately 5 minutes, uses a 9-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (little stress) to 9 (extreme stress) to measure sources of stress and stress-related symptoms. SUBJECTS: The sample consisted of 11 male and 9 female student athletic trainers enrolled in a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)-accredited undergraduate program at a mid-Atlantic university. MEASUREMENTS: We computed descriptive statistics for the stress items and symptoms (ie, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral) and graphed them according to sex. Separate sex x time analyses of variance were performed to investigate changes in cognitive, somatic, and behavioral stress over the course of the study and to determine if these changes were different for male and female student athletic trainers. RESULTS: Academic and financial concerns represented the greatest sources of stress for student athletic trainers. Repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that stress levels fluctuated significantly during the academic year, with peak stress levels experienced during midterm and at the end of the spring semester. Although female student athletic trainers consistently reported higher levels of stress than their male counterparts, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Student athletic trainers exhibited fluctuations in their stress levels throughout an academic calendar. Academic and financial concerns were the most common stressors. Certified athletic trainers should take an interest in their student athletic trainers and be willing to provide assistance in times of need. Additional research is needed regarding student athletic trainers and stress.
Stilger
Vincent G.
VG
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
Etzel
Edward F.
EF
Lantz
Christopher D.
CD