title: Personality Traits and Burnout Among Athletic Trainers Employed in the Collegiate Setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burnout, a psychological state of mental weariness that occurs when work stresses become overwhelming, has frequently been documented in athletic trainers and has been hypothesized to affect professional retention. Experiences of burnout may be influenced by individual-level factors such as gender or personality, though few researchers have investigated such interactions in athletic trainers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between personalities, as measured by the Big Five Personality Inventory, and burnout.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Online Web-based survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 189 athletic trainers working in the collegiate setting, 65 men (34.4%) and 124 women (65.6%), with an average of 5 ± 3 years certified and 2.5 ± 2 years working in their current position.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected using a Web-based survey instrument consisting of 3 sections: (1) demographics, (2) burnout survey, and (3) Big Five Personality Inventory. Likert responses for the burnout score were summed. Independent t tests, Pearson correlations, and multiple regressions were calculated to evaluate the relationships between demographics and burnout and between burnout and personality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This group of athletic trainers experienced moderate burnout, regardless of gender. A weak negative correlation was present between burnout score and both agreeableness and extraversion. A weak positive correlation existed between burnout and neuroticism. These variables did not predict burnout scores; only neuroticism added significantly to the weak predictive value. Personality explained only 17.3% of the variability in burnout scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study confirms the findings of previous researchers highlighting moderate burnout in athletic trainers employed in the collegiate setting. We did not find that personality significantly predicted burnout, though it did account for a small amount of the variance in burnout scores. Thus, organizational-level factors may play a greater role in determining burnout in athletic trainers than individual-level factors such as personality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Athletic Training Program, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: Department of Athletic Training and Exercise Science, Lasell College, Newton, MA.
authors.forename: Christianne M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Eason
authors.affiliation: Department of Athletic Training and Exercise Science, Lasell College, Newton, MA.
authors.forename: Rhyan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lazar
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Athletic Training Program, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mazerolle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D013177:Sports / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Big Five Inventory; individual factors; stress