Balancing Academics and Sports: Role Conflict and Self-Compassion in Relation to Collegiate athletes’ Performance

Collegiate athletes experience unique stressors stemming from the dual demands of academics and athletics. Grounded in the job demands–resources model, we examined the associations between role conflict, self-compassion, and perceived sport performance, with athlete burnout and flourishing as mediators. A total of 544 South Korean collegiate athletes participated in this study. Results revealed that role conflict was associated with higher levels of athlete burnout, which was related to lower perceived sport performance. Conversely, self-compassion was associated with higher levels of flourishing and lower levels of burnout, which were further related to more favorable perceived sport performance outcomes. These findings extend the job demands–resources model by integrating personal resources and dual mediation processes, providing deeper insights into the psychological processes underlying collegiate athletes’ perceived sport performance. This study also highlights the importance of reducing role conflict and fostering self-compassion to enhance well-being and perceived sport performance in high-demand athletic environments.