Athletic Stress and Burnout: Conceptual Models and Intervention Strategies
Ronald E. Smith
Abstract
The competitive athletic setting can be a highly demanding one from both a physical and a psychological perspective, and one which is therefore capable of eliciting high levels of stress in participants. High levels of athletic stress can have a wide range of negative consequences. Stress can undermine enjoyment and performance, and high levels of life stress can significantly increase the likelihood of injury. In recent years, the term burnout has also begun to appear with increasing frequency in athletics. Coaches at all levels have begun to discuss the dangers of burnout in their profession. Elite athletes have dropped out of sports at the peak of their careers, maintaining that they are “burned out” and that participation has become too aversive for them to continue. Burnout is typically viewed as a response to stress, and several investigators have noted the desirability of relating burnout to the theoretical and research literature on stress and coping.