Objective: To assess the prevalence of occupational burnout, engagement, and somatic health complaints and the associations among these constructs experienced by certified athletic trainers (ATs). A secondary objective was to examine differences between men and women, those with more versus less postcertification experience, and ATs who worked in different occupational settings.
Design: Survey-based, stratified, proportionate random sample of full-time ATs.
Setting: Data were collected online from ATs employed full time in the college or university, secondary school or youth, and industrial or clinical settings.
Patients or other participants: Of 3998 invited ATs, 934 replied, for a response rate of 24%. The mean age of the participants was 33.84 +/- 8.29 years, and each AT worked with an average of 90 clients.
Main outcome measure(s): The dependent variables were perceived stress, occupational burnout, engagement, and somatic health complaints.
Results: Although 17.2% of participants were in the most advanced stages of burnout, low levels of burnout and high degrees of occupational engagement were observed. Women ATs and those working in the college or university settings scored higher for burnout, whereas men and those in the clinical or industrial settings scored higher for engagement. Women also reported significantly more somatic health complaints than men did.
Conclusions: The overall prevalence of burnout in ATs was relatively small, but sex and occupational-setting differences were observed and deserve greater scrutiny.
Keywords: athletic training careers; health; psychology; stress.