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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/20899 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Abrahamson, Earle Derek |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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