Burnout in sport : A comparative analysis between South African gymnasts tennis players

• Main Author: Abrahamson, Earle Derek
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Sports > Psychological aspects; Burn out (Psychology); Gymnasts > South Africa; Tennis players > South Africa
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/20899

Research on burnout has typically focused on individuals in the human service or helping occupations, More recently studies and conceptual models have appeared investigating burnout in the athletic environment, The bulk of research 011 athletic burnout has been conducted on coaches and, consequently, there is a dearth of empirical research on athlete burnout. 'the present study compared tennis players with gymnasts to determine which group is more likely to experience a higher incidence of burnout. The study also sought to investigate whether any relationship was evident between sport specific factors on the one hand, and burnout, tedium and psychological distress on the other. Three objective questionnaires consisting of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MDI). Tedium measure and General Health Questionnaire 28 item scale (GHQ-28), as well as a sport specific questionnaire developed by the author, were used to collect data from 20 provincial and national tennis players (10 male and 10 female) and 20 provincial and elite gymnasts (10 male and 10 female). Statistical analysis of the questionnaires revealed a number of important findings. It was found that sport group was not a significant factor in the assessment of athlete burnout. Gender, however, was highly significant with females more likely to experience burnout than males. It was shown that females experience low levels of sport enjoyment, social support and personal accomplishment and high levels of sport pressure, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, tedium and psychological distress. Key relationships were further identified between the sport specific variables of sport enjoyment, social support and sport pressure, and the burnout, tedium and psychological distress variables. Negative sport performance such as low enjoyment and social support and heightened feelings of sport pressure were strongly related to high levels of burnout, tedium and psychological distress. Recommendations for future research are made on the basis of these findings.