abstract: 'Context: Life-work balance may be one reason for retention concerns

  among athletic trainers (ATs), yet evidence does not exist to support

  the supposition.

  Objective: To assess the perceptions of ATs regarding life-work balance,

  specifically on parenting issues.

  Design: Survey.

  Setting: Online survey at www.surveymonkey.com.

  Patients or Other Participants: A random sample of National Athletic

  Trainers'' Association members (N = 9516) received the survey; 20.6\% (n

  = 1962; male 954, female 816; age = 37 +/- 10 years, experience = 13 +/-

  9 years) completed any portion of the survey. Most respondents worked in

  the college/university (34.5\%, n = 657 of 1908) and secondary school

  settings (25.9\%, n = 476 of 1908). A majority of participants (50.7\%,

  n = 898 of 1770) were parents.

  Intervention(s): We calculated frequencies and percentages and used

  Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests to identify the

  differences between sexes and among job settings on life-work balance

  measures among parents.

  Main Outcome Measures: The questionnaire included 8 life-work balance

  items, 7 parenting challenge items, and 3 nonparent items.

  Results: The results indicate that sex and setting significantly

  affected perceptions about parenting. Males articulated a stronger sense

  of difficulty in finding balance as a working parent (P < .001; 1.95 +/-

  1.98). Females felt more strongly than males that managing work and

  family was stressful (P = .04; 3.86 +/- 1.13) and caused burnout (P =

  .004; 3.50 +/- 1.24), and that their energy tended to fall short of

  their needs (P < .001; 3.74 +/- 1.15). The decision not to have children

  was strongly affected by the work setting (P = .014; 3.37 +/- 1.42).

  Both college/university (4.14 +/- 0.85) and secondary school (4.03 +/-

  0.90) ATs would prefer to spend more time at home, as compared with ATs

  in other settings (P < .001). College/university ATs (P = .025; 3.17 +/-

  1.23) felt most strongly that their families were neglected because of

  work. In none of the settings did ATs feel that their employment

  settings were particularly tolerant of their parenting responsibilities

  (P = .027; 1.72 +/- 1.97).

  Conclusions: Male and female employees had similar perceptions of

  life-work balance, but occupational setting may affect these

  perceptions.'
affiliation: 'Eberman, LE (Corresponding Author), Indiana State Univ, Dept Appl Med
  \& Rehabil, Sycamore Ctr Wellness \& Appl Med Bldg, Room 257, Terre Haute, IN 47809
  USA.

  Eberman, Lindsey E.; Kahanov, Leamor, Indiana State Univ, Dept Appl Med \& Rehabil,
  Terre Haute, IN 47809 USA.'
author: Eberman, Lindsey E. and Kahanov, Leamor
author-email: lindsey.eberman@indstate.edu
author_list:
- family: Eberman
  given: Lindsey E.
- family: Kahanov
  given: Leamor
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-48.2.01
eissn: 1938-162X
files: []
issn: 1062-6050
journal: JOURNAL OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
keywords: 'life-work integration; professional barriers; retention; sex; employment

  setting'
keywords-plus: FAMILY CONFLICT; SECONDARY-SCHOOL; PERSPECTIVES; BURNOUT; GENDER; JOB
language: English
month: MAY-JUN
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '29'
pages: 416-423
papis_id: eda6c37a113b95d1840115f017dda68c
ref: Eberman2013athletictrainer
times-cited: '23'
title: Athletic Trainer Perceptions of Life-Work Balance and Parenting Concerns
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000323894600014
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '15'
volume: '48'
web-of-science-categories: Sport Sciences
year: '2013'