An Examination of Athletic Trainers' Occupational Recovery Experiences During Time After Work

Abstract

Context Although researchers have directed scholars toward investigating the effectiveness of the nonwork personal time of athletic trainers (ATs), no one has characterized the occupational recovery experiences of ATs. Objective To examine the reliability and validity of the Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ) for use in AT populations. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Web-based survey. Patients or Other Participants A total of 144 ATs (71 men, 73 women) working in a variety of National Collegiate Athletic Association sports across all levels of competition. Main Outcome Measure(s) The REQ was administered to assess the AT recovery experience. Results Preliminary evidence emerged for the reliability (ω = 0.80–0.90) and validity of the REQ for use in AT populations. Weak linear relationships were identified between stress and perceptions of psychological detachment ( r = −0.314, P < .001), mastery ( r = −0.179, P = .32), control ( r = −0.284, P = .001), and relaxation ( r = −0.157, P = .06). Conclusions Our results support measuring and applying occupational recovery for AT stress and work-life balance. Given that occupational recovery as a construct was only weakly related to stress, it is clearly a unique and distinct variable worth considering within the work-life balance line of inquiry.