The Mediation of Athlete Satisfaction on the Relationship of Role Dimensions and Team Commitment

Poster presented at the Southeast Regional Conference of the American Association of Sport Psychology

In the industrial and organizational domain, an individual’s commitment to an organization can be influenced by the perceived satisfaction with their work experience (Meyer & Allen, 1991; Porter et al., 1974). Correspondingly, it has been demonstrated that role components may impact an individual’s satisfaction. Specifically, role ambiguity and role satisfaction have been exhibited to be significant correlates of athlete satisfaction (Eys et al., 2003; Jones, 2006). Although these constructs have been studied separately, the literature has yet to examine them concurrently. The purpose of the current study is to examine the degree to which athlete satisfaction mediates the relationship between role dimensions and team commitment in collegiate athletes. Collegiate athletes will be asked to participate in the current study examining team commitment, athlete satisfaction, role ambiguity, role conflict, role acceptance, and role satisfaction. First, a Pearson correlation analysis will be run to determine if all the variables of role dimensions, athlete satisfaction, and team commitment are related. Then, a linear multiple mediation analysis using the PROCESS tool (Hayes, 2012) will be run to determine if athlete satisfaction mediates the relationship between role dimensions and team commitment. It is hypothesized that athlete satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship on role dimensions and team commitment. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that, with athlete satisfaction as a significant mediator, role ambiguity and role conflict will negatively predict team commitment, while role acceptance and role satisfaction will positively predict team commitment.