Athlete Burnout: An Individual and Organizational Phenomenon

“Adults need to pay attention. It’s a problem in youth sports. These kids are burned out. From 12 to 18, I bet Elena can count on her hands the amount of weekends she didn’t have anything to do related to sport. She’s missed the opportunity to be a kid.”

Former burnout case and current WNBA player Jeré Longman talking about Elena Delle Donne

Chapter 21

J.D. DeFreese, Thomas D. Raedeke, and Alan L. Smith

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• A multidimensional, cognitive-affective syndrome characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation• Negative impacts include:• Performance decrements,• Decreased motivation• Potential dropout• Troubled social relations that negatively impact team climate• Mental (anxiety, depression, eating disorders) and physical (illness

susceptibility, substance abuse) health

• Approximately 1% to 10% of athletes suffer from it• With no consistent diagnostic criteria, that number may be

skewed

Athlete Burnout

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The Three Dimensions of Burnout• Emotional Exhaustion – Intense training and competition• Devaluation/Depersonalisation – Loss of interest and

resentment• Reduced Accomplishment – Achieving below expectations and

not meeting personal targets

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What It’s Not

• It is NOT depression• It is NOT sport drop out• Burnout causes some athletes to quit sport, but not all burned-

out athletes will quit

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What Causes Burnout?

• Burnout is considered:• A reaction to chronic stress explained within overtraining

and psychosocial stress perspectives• A motivational phenomenon examined within self-

determination and entrapment frameworks

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Overtraining• An imbalance between training and

recovery, often combined with other training and non-training stressors• Overreaching • Overtraining syndrome • Recovery• Life stress outside of sport can

potentially impact how athletes respond to intense training

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Psychosocial Sport Stress

• Occurs when athletes perceive an imbalance between sport demands and their ability to meet those demands• Stresses = high training and competitive demands, time

requirement of sport, pressure from coaches/teammates, family dynamics surrounding sport, internal pressure

• This approach suggests that beyond lowering sport-based demands, increasing resources can be effective in deterring athlete burnout

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Self-Determination Theory (SDT)• Psychological outcomes are influenced by the nature of one’s

motivation• Individual choice VS. internal or external pressures

• Motivation influenced by: • Autonomy – feelings of personal choice or control• Competence – sense of success and being effective in one’s

environment• Relatedness – social connection to others reflected by

feelings of acceptance and belonging • SDT framework suggests that structuring sport to support

satisfaction of psychological needs and increase self-determined motivation for athletes is helpful for burnout prevention

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Sport Entrapment• Burnout occurs when individuals feel

trapped into the role of being an athlete• Maintain involvement in sport not

because they want to, but because they feel they have to

• This perspective highlights that athlete burnout experiences are most appropriately considered within the sport structures that contribute to their occurrence

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Burnout Interventions

• Need to be multi-faceted • Should address a range of antecedents (overtraining,

psychosocial sport stress, SDT, sport entrapment)• Consider the highly individualized nature of athlete burnout• The most effective interventions will have a prevention focus

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The Job-Person Fit Model of Burnout and Engagement

This model emphasizes individual perceptions of:1. Workload – demands relative to one’s personal limits and

resources2. Control – ability to influence decisions, autonomy, and access to

the resources necessary for performance3. Reward – incentives (monetary, social, intrinsic) consistent with

expectations4. Community – social interaction in the form of conflict, closeness,

and teamwork5. Fairness – fairness and respectfulness of decisions and treatment6. Values – correspondence between personal and organizational

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distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

• Helps athletes experience engagement• Engagement: a positive psychological experience

characterized by:a) confidence in contrast to a reduced sense of

accomplishmentb) dedication in contrast to devaluationc) vigor and enthusiasm in contrast to exhaustion

• Engagement helps prevent burnout AND enhances motivation, performance, and well-being

The Job-Person Fit Model of Burnout and Engagement (cont.)

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Framework for Tailoring Prevention & Treatment Strategies

1. Assess the situation2. Determine what individual and

organizational factors are important3. Design an intervention plan4. Evaluate intervention effectiveness

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