Role separation’s impact on student-athlete well-being

Student-athletes balance the roles of student and athlete in their identities, and these roles provide stressors and risks that may influence their mental health. Student-athlete role separation is the degree to which student-athletes separate their roles as student and athlete. This IRB approved (2018-0421) study utilized sequential explanatory mixed-methods to examine role separation’s impact on well-being in student-athletes at four NCAA Division-I institutions. Results indicated that high athletic identity was associated with a low degree of role separation (r = −0.281). Only 6% of student-athletes (n = 186) separated their roles to a high degree; most were flourishing (61%); however, no significant correlation was found between well-being and role separation. In addition, student-athletes perceived a lack of role separation to positively impact their well-being. Further research is needed to assess role separation’s influence on student-athlete well-being, and evidence-based strategies should be explored to facilitate student-athlete flourishing during the college years.