A social cognitive approach to burnout in elite athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate athlete burnout from a social-cognitive perspective by examining the relationship between social cognitive motivational variables at the start of a season and signs of burnout in elite athletes at the end of the season. Participants were 141 (F=60, M=81) elite winter sport athletes competing in Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Nordic Combined, Nordic skiing, and Speed skating. Participants completed a comprehensive motivation assessment package at the start of the season and a further burnout inventory at season's end. Results indicated that motivational dispositions, measures of the achievement climate, perceived ability and dimensions of perfectionism were associated with burnout in a conceptually consistent manner. Furthermore, the elite athletes could be grouped into two motivational profiles based on variables measured at the start of the season, one being adaptive and the other maladaptive. At season's end, the two different motivational profiles yielded distinctively different responses on an inventory assessing signs of burnout. The current findings strengthen the claim that burnout in elite athletes may not simply be "motivation gone awry" as Gould has suggested, but an inevitable consequence of exhibiting a maladaptive motivational profile.

Perfectionism and achievement goals in young Finnish ice-hockey players aspiring to make the Under-16 national team

“…First, they corroborate previous findings that perfectionism in athletes is closely associated with performance goal orientations (Dunn et al, 2002;Hall et al, 1998;Lemyre et al, 2008;Ommundsen et al, 2005). Second, they show that it is important to differentiate between perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns as well as between approach and avoidance orientations.…”

“…In particular, perfectionistic strivings may not capture perfectionistic personal standards which are a defining characteristic of perfectionistic strivings dimension, and negative reactions may not capture perfectionistic concerns over mistakes which are a defining characteristic of the perfectionistic concerns dimension (see Stoeber & Otto, 2006). Moreover, except for Stoeber et al's (2008) study, all previous studies on perfectionism and achievement goals have included personal standards and concern over mistakes (Dunn et al, 2002;Hall et al, 1998;Lemyre et al, 2008;Ommundsen et al, 2005). Consequently, it would be important to include perfectionistic personal standards and concerns over mistakes when investigating the relationship between perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and achievement goals.…”

Perfectionism and burnout in junior elite soccer players: The mediating influence of unconditional self-acceptance

“…Empirical evidence suggests that negative dimensions of perfectionism may be critical antecedents of burnout in young athletes Lemyre et al, 2007). However, because few studies have systematically examined the nature of the relationship between perfectionism and burnout in elite youth sport, the present investigation sought to extend research in this area by examining potential psychological mechanisms that would help explain why perfectionistic athletes may be vulnerable to the experience of this syndrome.…”

“…While there has been little empirical examination of the relationship between perfectionism and athlete burnout, current findings suggest that specific maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism appear to be the critical antecedents of the syndrome Lemyre et al, 2007). However, this research has relied exclusively on a measure of perfectionism developed by Frost and colleagues (FMPS;Frost et al, 1990).…”

The Psychology of Dynamic Balance and Peak Performance in Sport: Correction Theory

“…Miller & Kerr (2002) alluded to this imbalance when they suggested that performance excellence is often at the expense of personal DYNAMIC BALANCE, CORRECTION THEORY 11 excellence, compromising the development of the whole person, and arguably increasing the likelihood of athlete burnout and/or psychopathology. This imbalance has also been considered within research investigating the deleterious effects of perfectionism in sport (e.g., Gould, Udry, Tuffey, & Loehr, 1996;Lemyre, Hall, & Roberts, 2008). What hasn't been considered is the possibility that notions of balance and imbalance, in relation to a dynamically balanced system, might provide a new theoretical framework to help develop our understanding of performance variation and peak performance in sport.…”