Development of School and Sport Burnout in Adolescent Student‐Athletes: A Longitudinal Mixed‐Methods Study

Abstract

We investigated the development of school and sport burnout in adolescent student-athletes (N Time 1 = 391, N Time 2 = 373) during their first year in upper secondary school using an embedded mixed-methods design. The questionnaire-based data were analyzed with growth mixture modeling and four burnout profiles were identified among student-athletes. From the found burnout profiles, two were typical for the interviewed subsample of elite athletes (n = 17), that is, burnout risk and non risk profiles. We generated rich descriptions of well-being and ill-being, showing that elite athletes in two burnout profiles differed in their experienced demands and resources related to individual and environmental factors. The results can be used to generate practical tools for burnout detection in student-athletes' educational path.

The role of resilience in student‐athletes' sport and school burnout and dropout: A longitudinal person‐oriented study

“…At the same time as athletes often transit to adult sport, which may be one of the most challenging times in career, young athletes face the increasing demands of upper secondary school . Taken this into account, it is not surprising that some student‐athletes show sport and school burnout symptoms, such as emotional and physiological exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy, already in the beginning of upper secondary school and that the symptoms increase over time . One potential consequence of student‐athletes’ burnout is dropping out of sport (ie, quitting their athletic career) or school (ie, quitting their education).…”

“…Burnout has been suggested to develop as a consequence of chronic stress when the experienced demands (eg, high training load) constantly exceed the available resources (eg, social support) . This may be particularly evident for student‐athletes who may have more demands than adolescents in general, as they strive for success in two domains . The lives of student‐athletes on the domains of sport and school are highly intertwined and one domain is likely to affect the other.…”

“…Because individuals have different processes of functioning, it is possible that there are different subgroups of individuals with similar symptomology to each other, but different from the individuals in other groups. Indeed, it has been shown that based on the level and change of sport and school burnout symptoms there are different profiles of student‐athletes already in the beginning of upper secondary schools, and these profiles may become more overlapped during the first school year . However, it has been argued that since burnout is a condition that evolves over time, longer time frames and measuring points are needed to investigate the phenomenon …”

“…Although it has been shown that a relatively large proportion of student‐athletes suffer from sport and school burnout symptoms during the first school year, there are also student‐athletes who cope with the demands of dual career well and do not show symptoms of burnout . It has been suggested that one factor differentiating athletes who get burned out from those who do not is psychological resilience, that is, individual's ability to bounce back or recover from stress . Resilience can appear in response to a vast range of adversities, ranging from mild daily hassles to major traumatic events, and it may help to explain why some individuals can endure—or even blossom on—the pressure experienced in their lives .…”

“…So far, however, the role of resilience in student‐athletes’ well‐being has not been investigated. A recent mixed methods study of student‐athletes’ burnout showed that that the interviewed athletes at burnout risk described being less resilient in their daily lives than those who were not at risk for burnout . Nevertheless, in order to generalize the results into a wider population, quantitative confirmation of the results is needed.…”