Burnout

This chapter highlights the most up-to-date research and theory on burnout in sport with a focus on its development as a response to chronic exposure to stress. Extant theories explaining the development of burnout are reviewed as well as strategies for prevention/mitigation of the aversive experiential state. A particular focus is placed upon individual and environmental factors as potential contributors to burnout development/prevention as well as potential performance implications. The primary focus of the chapter is on athlete populations but other sport-related populations (i.e., coaches, officials) susceptible to burnout are also considered. The four sections of the chapter focus on: 1) defining and describing athlete burnout within the psychological stress and coping model, 2) describing how other prominent burnout processes work synergistically with the stress and coping model in explaining burnout in sport, 3) describing evidence of burnout in coaches and other non-athlete populations, and 4) highlighting potential practical implications of the current evidence on burnout in sport as they relate to prevention and symptom mitigation. This chapter provides a synthesis of the growing literature on sport-based burnout, and also provides implications for research, intervention, and performance going forward.