Gustafsson, Henrik

Hill, Andrew P.

Madigan, Daniel J.

Raedeke, Thomas

Smith, Alan

York St John University Institutional Repository

Madigan, Daniel J. ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9937-1818, Gustafsson, Henrik, Smith, Alan, Raedeke, Thomas and Hill, Andrew P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6370-8901 (2019) The BASES Expert Statement on Burnout in Sport. The sport and exercise scientist, 61.pp. 6-7.  Downloaded from: http://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/3995/The version presented here may differ from the published version or version of record. If you intend to cite from the work you are advised to consult the publisher's version:https://www.bases.org.uk/imgs/tses___issue_61_autumn_19_expert_statement_online__pages_579.pdfResearch at York St John (RaY) is an institutional repository. It supports the principles of open access by making the research outputs of the University available in digital form. Copyright of the items stored in RaY reside with the authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full text items free of charge, and may download a copy for private study or non-commercial research. For further reuse terms, see licence terms governing individual outputs. Institutional Repository Policy StatementRaYResearch at the University of York St John For more information please contact RaY at ray@yorksj.ac.uk6 The Sport and Exercise Scientist  n  Issue 61  n   Autumn 2019  n  www.bases.org.uk    @basesuk  @BASESUK  bases_uk  BASESUKIntroductionBurnout is an extreme and persistent form of sport disillusionment that can afflict both athletes and coaches. It is comprised of three symptoms, namely, a reduced sense of accomplishment, devaluation or cynicism directed at sport, and physical and emotional exhaustion (Maslach et al., 1986; Raedeke & Smith, 2001). These symptoms are significant contributors to diminished physical and psychological well-being. As such, our aim in the present expert statement is to increase awareness of burnout and provide athletes, coaches and sport scientists with recommendations to help prevent its occurrence.Background and evidenceResearchers have invested substantial time and resources into understanding burnout in sport (Goodger et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2019). This research has provided us with considerable insight into its consequences. For athletes, burnout is associated with underperformance, compromised physical and psychological well-being and possible dropout from sport (Gustafsson et al., 2017). For coaches, there is evidence that it reduces work capacity, negatively affects coach-athlete relationships and can result in coaches leaving the profession (Goodger et al., 2007). Although few studies have directly assessed burnout prevalence, estimates suggest that up to 10% of athletes may regularly experience moderate levels of burnout symptoms. In coaches, rates are likely to be comparable to those found in similar professions (e.g. ~15% of teachers; García-Carmona et al., 2019). Research has also provided us with a great deal of information about burnout development. This research suggests that burnout stems from both stress and motivation-related processes. Consequently, factors that place the individual at risk of stress or motivation difficulties are particularly relevant in understanding burnout development. These factors can relate to the structure of sport (i.e. organisation/environment) and the individual themselves. For the structure of sport, perceived incongruence of personally desired and organisationally provided resources (e.g. workload, control, reward, community, fairness and value), a lack of social support, and negative social interactions have all been found to positively correlate with burnout (Gustafsson et al., 2017; Pacewicz et al., 2019). For individual factors, a large body of evidence has shown that certain aspects of personality and elements of self-determination are important. For example, perfectionistic concerns (overly critical evaluations of one’s behaviour and performance) positively correlate with burnout and predict increases in athlete burnout over time (Hill & Curran, 2016). In addition, thwarting of psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness positively correlates with burnout. This thwarting corresponds with more external motives and less internal motives for sport involvement, which also tie with greater burnout (Li et al., 2013).The preceding discussion highlights the importance of protecting athletes and coaches from burnout. To provide athletes, coaches and sport scientists with the means to do so, we offer recommendations for how to monitor, intervene and further our understanding of burnout in sport. RecommendationsMonitoringMonitoring athletes and coaches for burnout symptoms is an important component of burnout prevention. Burnout is typically measured using self-report questionnaires. The Athlete Burnout Questionnaire is a15-item questionnaire capturing the three symptoms of athlete burnout (Raedeke & Smith, 2001). Similarly, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Scale (Schaufeli et al., 1996) is a 16-item questionnaire capturing burnout symptoms in coaches. We provide example items and the response format in Table 1. Higher scores indicate more frequent symptoms. Research shows that these questionnaires are useful for ongoing monitoring and detection of burnout in athletes and coaches (Smith et al., 2019). Intervention What can athletes and coaches do to address burnout? The aforementioned risk factors are helpful in terms of organising possible interventions. That is, we can target (1) the structure of sport (organisation/environment) and/or (2) the individual:The BASES Expert Statement on  Burnout in SportProduced on behalf of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences by Dr Daniel Madigan,  Dr Henrik Gustafsson, Prof Alan Smith, Prof Thomas Raedeke and Prof Andrew Hill.Table 1. Symptoms, example items and response format for monitoring athlete and coach burnout.AthletesSymptom Example itemAlmost neverSometimesAlmost alwaysReduced sense of accomplishment“I am not achieving much in sport.” 1 2 3 4 5Sport devaluation“I don’t care about my sport performance as much as I used to.”1 2 3 4 5Physical and emotional exhaustion“I am exhausted by the physical and mental demands of sport.”1 2 3 4 5CoachesSymptom Example itemNeverSometimesAlwaysReduced  professional  efficacy “At my work, I am not confident that I am effective at getting things done.”0 1 2 3 4 5 6Cynicism“I don’t really care if my work is done well or poorly.”0 1 2 3 4 5 6Exhaustion “Working all day is a real strain for me.” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6Items are adapted from the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke  & Smith, 2001) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Scale (Schaufeli   et al., 1996). Higher scores reflect more frequently experiencing  burnout symptoms.7The Sport and Exercise Scientist  n  Issue 61  n   Autumn 2019  n  www.bases.org.uk    @basesuk  @BASESUK  bases_uk  BASESUK(1) The structure of sport• Coaches and support staff can be taught to provide athletes with environments that are less likely to lead to burnout. There is evidence that offering more autonomy support (e.g. acknowledging athlete perspectives, providing athletes with the opportunity to make choices and decisions, and valuing independent problem solving and initiative taking), social support, and positive feedback can buffer the likelihood of burnout (Smith et al., 2019). • Organisational changes that reduce exposure to stressors (e.g. reduced workload), improve role clarity, and increase congruence between desired and provided resources (e.g. increased reward, organisational support) may help mitigate burnout risk for coaches. (2) The individual• Interventions targeting the individual should aim to reduce the potential for chronic stress and equip athletes and coaches with coping resources and strategies. There is evidence that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-based interventions are particularly effective in these regards and can combat burnout directly (Gustafsson et al., 2017). Psychological skills training (e.g. goal-setting, self-talk, imagery) is also likely to be effective and is often part of routine support provided by sport psychologists to athletes and coaches. Whereas more studies examining interventions for burnout prevention and treatment in sport are required, evidence outside of sport suggests interventions that simultaneously target the sport structure and the individual will be most effective  (West et al., 2016). Future researchSport scientists play an important role in advancing our understanding of burnout so as to increase our capacity to assist athletes and coaches. Accordingly, we close this expert statement by providing recommendations for future research. 1. We recommend developing behavioural observation measures of burnout symptoms. This would provide an additional means to monitor athletes and coaches for burnout symptoms (and may act as early warning for these individuals).  2. We highlight the need for research identifying the epidemiological and public health significance of burnout given its potential prevalence and impact on health-related outcomes.3. We have little understanding of the psychophysiology of burnout, both in terms of aetiology and its markers. Future research should therefore adopt a multidisciplinary approach that aims to identify endocrine (e.g. cortisol) and immunological (e.g. Salivary IgA) markers associated with burnout. 4. We also believe it is important to understand how social dynamics potentially catalyse or mitigate the processes involved in burnout development. This includes how burnout manifests amongst coach-athlete dyads and within organisations (e.g. teams of athletes and support staff). 5. We call for further intervention research that ensures we are able to practice in an evidence-based manner.ConclusionsBurnout consists of three core symptoms that have a negative impact on athletes and coaches. Burnout is known to stem from both stress and motivation-related processes and can be monitored using self-report questionnaires. Prevention should focus on addressing the sport structure and individual in ways that reduce exposure to stress, promote autonomy support and increase coping resources and strategies. Taken together, we hope that this expert statement will enable athletes, coaches and sport scientists to better recognise burnout and its risk factors so as to help prevent its development and intervene when necessary. Dr Daniel MadiganDaniel is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at York St John University, UK. Dr Henrik GustafssonHenrik is an Associate Professor at Karlstad University, Sweden and a Sport Psychologist with the Swedish Olympic Committee.Prof Alan SmithAlan is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Kinesiology at Michigan State University, USA.Prof Thomas RaedekeTom is a Professor and Graduate Program Director for the Kinesiology Department at East Carolina University, USA.Prof Andrew HillAndy is a Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology at York St John University, UK. He is a BASES accredited sport and exercise scientist.References:García-Carmona, M., Marín, M.D. & Aguayo, R. (2019). Burnout syndrome in secondary school teachers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Psychology of Education, 22, 189-208.Goodger, K. et al. (2007). Burnout in sport: A systematic review. The Sport Psychologist, 21, 127-151.Gustafsson, H., DeFreese, J.D. & Madigan, D.J. (2017). Athlete burnout: Review and recommendations. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16, 109-113.Hill, A.P. & Curran, T. (2016). Multidimensional perfectionism and burnout: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 20, 269-288.Li, C., Wang, C.J. & Kee, Y.H. (2013). Burnout and its relations with basic psychological needs and motivation among athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 692-700.Maslach, C. et al. (1986). Maslach burnout inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Pacewicz, C.E., Mellano, K.T. & Smith, A.L. (2019). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social constructs and athlete burnout. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 155-164. Raedeke, T.D. & Smith, A.L. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of an athlete burnout measure. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology,  23, 281-306.Schaufeli, W.B. et al. (1996). MBI–General Survey. In C. Maslach, S. E. Jackson, & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed., pp. 22-26). Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.Smith, A.L., Pacewicz, C.E. & Raedeke, T.D. (2019). Athlete burnout in competitive sport. In T.S. Horn & A.L. Smith (Eds.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology (4th ed., pp. 409-424). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.West, C.P. et al. (2016). Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 388, 2272-2281.Download a PDF of this article: www.bases.org.uk/BASES-Expert-StatementsCopyright © BASES, 2019 Permission is given for reproduction in substantial part. We ask that the following note be included: “First published in The Sport and Exercise Scientist, Issue 61, Autumn 2019. Published by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences - www.bases.org.uk

The BASES Expert Statement on Burnout in Sport

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The BASES Expert Statement on Burnout in Sport

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