The Relationship Between Passion, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Athlete Burnout: Examining Direct and Indirect Effects

Abstract

Athlete burnout symptoms are detrimental to athlete well-being (Cresswell & Eklund, 2005). Obsessive passion has been identified as an antecedent of athlete burnout, with basic psychological need satisfaction potentially mediating this process (Curran et al., 2011; 2013; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Vallerand et al., 2003). The aim of the current research was to extend on previous work (e.g., Curran et al., 2011; 2013; Gustafsson et al., 2011) and examine whether the relationship between passion and athlete burnout was mediated by psychological need satisfaction in a heterogeneous sample. Participants were 120 competitive athletes (Mage = 22.04, SD = 5.83) from 21 different sports. Each participant completed the Passion Scale (Vallerand et al., 2003), Basic Psychological Needs in Sport Scale (Ng, Lonsdale, & Hodge, 2011), and the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001). Multiple regression and bootstrapping procedures (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) were used to analyze the data. Passion (harmonious and obsessive) was found to share a significant relationship with sport devaluation but shared no significant relationship with emotional and physical exhaustion and reduced sense of accomplishment. Bootstrapping results suggested that the basic psychological need of autonomy was the only significant mediating variable in the relationship between passion (harmonious and obsessive) and burnout (sport devaluation). Potential antecedents and consequences of athlete burnout, alongside applied and conceptual implications are discussed.

Basic Psychological Needs, Burnout and Engagement in Sport: The Mediating Role of Motivation Regulation

“…This effect could be explained by the nature of the BPN, for example, when athletes feel more competent, they firmly believe they can achieve good results, an attitude contrary to burnout, in which athletes do not feel capable of achieving their goals because of a very much reduced sense of achievement [62]. Additionally, a significant negative impact on the perceptions of competence can influence the value that athletes assign to their sport [63]. When they feel less autonomous, the lack of psychological freedom could bring about them to run out of external resources causing an imbalance between demands and resources.…”

Burnout, Positivity and Passion in Young Mexican Athletes: The Mediating Effect of Social Support

“…Another variable that resulted mediated by the social support was the harmonious passion, which, as with positivity, presented direct and indirect effects statistically regarding the burnout. This result was expected, due to the different studies that have found that the harmonious passion is a significant predictor of burnout [27,72]. Regarding the obsessive passion, it was not measured by the social support but it did obtain a positive direct and significant effect with the burnout.…”

Burnout, Positivity and Passion in Young Mexican Athletes: Mediating Effect of Social Support

“…Another variable that resulted mediated by the social support was the harmonious passion that, same as positivity, presented direct and indirect effects statistically regarding the burnout. This result was expected, due to the different studies that have found that the harmonious passion is a significant predictor of burnout [27,50]. Regarding the obsessive passion, it was not measured by the social support but it did obtain a positive direct and significant effect with the burnout.…”