# Heterogeneity in dual-career stress: an integrative person-centered and distribution-sensitive analysis of its asymmetric effects on adolescent football players

## TL;DR

This study explores how different types of stress affect adolescent football players differently, showing that stress impacts vary based on individual profiles and existing levels of burnout or academic performance.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel integrative approach combining person-centered and distribution-sensitive analyses to reveal asymmetric effects of dual-career stress.

## Key findings

- Four distinct stress profiles were identified among adolescent football players.
- Stress had stronger associations with burnout at higher quantiles and stronger negative associations with academic performance at lower quantiles.
- The Dual-Track Distressed profile showed the strongest links to burnout and poor academic performance.

## Abstract

This study examined the heterogeneous nature of dual-career stress and its asymmetric associations with on adolescent athletes, aiming to: (1) identify distinct stress profiles based on academic, training, and role-conflict stressors; (2) assess whether stress associations vary across levels of athletic burnout and academic performance; and (3) test whether stress profiles moderate these relationships.

A two-wave longitudinal study included 843 adolescent male football players in China. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) categorized participants using three stressor subscales at Time 1. Quantile Regression (QR) at Time 2 (6 months later) analyzed the association between total stress and athletic burnout and academic performance across five quantiles (τ = 0.10–0.90), with stress profile as moderator, controlling for social support, time management, and demographics.

LPA revealed four profiles: Balanced Moderates (37.2%), Academically Overwhelmed (28.1%), Sport-Centric Strained (22.0%), and Dual-Track Distressed (12.7%). QR showed the positive association between stress and burnout increased across quantiles (β = 0.41 at τ = 0.10 to 0.78 at τ = 0.90), with the strongest association observed among already burnt-out athletes most. For academic performance, the negative association between stress and performance was strongest at lower quantiles (β = −0.71 at τ = 0.10) and weaker at higher quantiles (β = −0.29 at τ = 0.90). Stress profiles significantly moderate these relationships: the Dual-Track Distressed profile showed the strongest association with on burnout (β = 0.89), while Academically Overwhelmed and Dual-Track Distressed profiles showed the strongest negative association with on academic performance (β = −0.79 and −0.92, respectively).

Dual-career stress experiences and impacts are highly heterogeneous. Adolescents cluster into meaningful stress profiles, and stress is most strongly associated with negative outcomes among those already at extremes of burnout or poor academic performance. Findings underscore the need for personalized interventions tailored to athletes' specific stress profiles and outcome levels, supporting holistic development in dual-career contexts.