LAUSR

CONTEXT Athletic training is a multi-faceted profession characterized by interpersonal relationships and a team approach to care. Collaborative relationships, by nature, open the door for conflict, which has been reported frequently in the collegiate athletic setting. However, secondary school athletic trainers' (ATs') experiences with conflict and pressure in their role are not readily understood. OBJECTIVE To measure extent and sources of stress, pressure, and conflict within the secondary school athletic training setting and determine if differences exist across employment characteristics. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Secondary school athletics. PARTICIPANTS Secondary school ATs (n=725; age=39.8±10.5 years; years certified=16.7±9.7; years in current role=10.6±7.8). INTERVENTIONS Online questionnaire with quantitative measures pertaining to organizational conflict and workplace dynamic. Employment type [school district employee, school district teacher, medical or university facility, independent contractor] and status [full-time (FT), part-time (PT)] served as independent variables. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Likert scale scores (1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree; 1=always to 5=never) and perceived sources of stress, pressure, and conflict were the dependent variables. Analyses included Kruskal-Wallis tests with Mann-Whitney U post-hoc tests and Odds Ratios to assess for associations between variables of interest. RESULTS We obtained a 15.3% response rate (725/4,745). While ATs reported experiencing conflict and pressure, these experiences were relatively infrequent and not universal. Compared to PT, FT ATs reported significantly higher ratings of strong relationships with coaches (p=.003) and the principal (p=.002). Sources of conflict most frequently identified were parents (59%) and coaches (53.9%), followed by athletes (32.6%). FT ATs were 1.6 times more likely to report experiencing conflict with a coach compared to PT ATs (OR = 1.550, 95% CI = 1.037-2.317), p=0.040). CONCLUSIONS Secondary school ATs' experiences regarding organizational conflict were relatively positive. Instances of pressure and conflict were reported, though relatively infrequently, and these experiences were largely uninfluenced by employment type.