Demographic differences in sport performers’ experiences of organizational stressors

Organizational stressors are particularly prevalent across sport performers’ experiences and can influence their performance, health, and well-being. Research has been conducted to identify which organizational stressors are encountered by sport performers but little is known about how these experiences vary from athlete to athlete. The purpose of this study was to examine if the frequency, intensity, and duration of the organizational stressors that sport performers encounter vary as a function of gender, sport type, and performance level. Participants (n = 1277) completed the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (OSI-SP; Arnold et al., 2013) and the resultant data was analyzed using multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs). The findings show that demographic differences are apparent in the dimensions of the goals and development, logistics and operations, team and culture, coaching, and selection organizational stressors that sport performers encounter. More specifically, significant differences were found between males and females, between team and individual based performers, and between performers competing at national or international, regional or university, and county or club levels. These findings have important implications for theory and research on organizational stress, and for the development of stress management interventions with sport performers.