This thesis examined the utility of Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002) as a framework for understanding athlete burnout and its hypothesized opposite - athlete engagement. Athlete burnout was defined as "a psychological syndrome of emotional/physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation" (Raedeke, 1997, p.398). Athlete engagement was defined as a persistent, positive, cognitive-affective experience in sport that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and confidence. Based on the predictions of Vallerand�s (1997; Vallerand & Losier, 1999) motivational model, it was hypothesized that elite New Zealand athletes with higher perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (i.e., basic psychological needs) would also report more self-determined motives to participate in sport and that individuals with higher self-determined motivation would experience lower athlete burnout and higher athlete engagement. Before testing these hypotheses four preliminary studies were necessary. First, because of the nomadic lifestyles of many elite athletes, it was decided that an online survey delivered via the Internet would be the most appropriate and effective method for collecting data to test the central hypotheses. However, a literature search revealed that no studies in sport psychology had compared online and traditional paper and pencil survey methods and therefore a preliminary study was needed to investigate potential survey format effects. Results of measurement invariance and latent mean structures analyses indicated that there were no differences on the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire for randomly assigned online (n=117) and paper and pencil (n=97) groups. Second, recent research (e.g., Martens & Webber, 2002; Riemer, Fink, & Fitzgerald, 2002) has indicated that the only published measure of behavioural regulations (i.e., motives) in sport (Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, Tuson, & Blais, 1995) has psychometric problems. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a reliable and valid measure of behavioural regulations in sport. Following rigorous scale development procedures that included expert review and pilot testing, results from two studies (n=382 and n=343) supported the reliability and validity of this new measure - the Behavioural Regulations in Sport Questionnaire.
Third, while researchers in organizational and educational psychology have examined engagement experiences, no research has investigated athlete engagement. Results of a qualitative inquiry with elite New Zealand athletes (n=15) indicated that vigour, dedication, and confidence were core athlete engagement dimensions. Fourth, items for a quantitative athlete engagement questionnaire were created using operational definitions from the qualitative study and then reviewed by athlete burnout and positive psychology experts. Analysis of data from two samples (n=382 and n=343) supported the reliability and validity of the Athlete Engagement Questionnaire. Results from the final study (n=343) investigating the relationships amongst basic needs, behavioural regulations, burnout, and engagement generally supported the main hypotheses of the thesis. Indeed, athletes with higher perceptions of autonomy and competence reported more self-determined regulations; however, relatedness was not a significant predictor. Athletes� levels of self-determined motivation accounted for substantial portions of variance in athlete burnout symptoms: emotional/physical exhaustion (R�=.13), sport devaluation (R�=.43) and reduced accomplishment (R�=.42). Behavioural regulations were also strong predictors of athlete engagement, accounting for 49% of the variance in vigour, 42% of the variance in dedication, and 30% of the variance in confidence. Implications of these results for researchers and practitioners are discussed. Directions for research concerning SDT, athlete burnout, and athlete engagement are also highlighted.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/266159 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Lonsdale, Christopher Sean, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. School of Physical Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Christopher Sean Lonsdale |
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