In light of recent concerns on the validity of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire, the aim of the present multistudy research was to examine the psychometric properties of a new measure of athlete burnout: the Athlete Burnout Scale (ABO-S). Three studies, involving 1,034 French high-level competitive adolescent athletes (M age ϭ 18.07), were conducted to provide evidence for the substantive, structural, and external stages of construct validation of the ABO-S. A preliminary version of the ABO-S was developed based on suggestions of an expert panel and athletes' rating of the scale clarity (Study 1). Results of the structural analyses revealed that a bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling with a general factor and 3 dimensions of athlete burnout (i.e., physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and negative feelings toward sport) fit the data well (Study 2). Patterns of relationships between the ABO-S scores, the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire scores, and the motivational regulations provided support for the external stage of the ABO-S construct validation (Study 3). As a whole, the present studies provided support for the reliability and validity of the ABO-S scores.

This study examined the prognostic relevance of self-determined motivation, coping, burnout, perceived stress and recovery experienced by 159 youth table-tennis players involved in intensive training centers with regard to their participation and success six years later. Results of ANCOVAs showed that players who still practiced at time 2 (T2; six years later; n = 130) reported lower time 1 (T1; while they were involved in intensive training centers) amotivation (large effect), disengagement-oriented coping, sport devaluation and reduced accomplishment (moderate effects) than their counterparts who dropped out at T2 (n = 29). Results of ANCOVAs also showed that international (n = 18) and/or national players (n = 86) at T2 reported significantly lower T1 amotivation (large effect), disengagement-oriented coping and sport devaluation (moderate effects) in comparison to regional (n = 26) players at T2. Finally results of correlational analyses showed that T2 performance and/or six-year performance progress were significantly and weakly correlated with introjected and external regulations, perceived stress and perceived recovery, and significantly and moderately correlated with amotivation, disengagement-oriented coping, sport devaluation, and reduced accomplishment. Overall, this study provided insights into the role played by self-determined motivation, coping, burnout, perceived stress and recovery in the table-tennis players' dropout and performance level six years later.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract