title: Injury and burnout in Australian athletes.
abstract: The relationship between injury and burnout in a sample of 264 local to international Australian athletes (124 men and 140 women) was studied. Injury can be a stressful experience for athletes; coupled with the demands of rehabilitation, it could increase feelings of burnout. Experiencing more than one injury could have a cumulative effect on feelings of burnout. Alternatively, for some athletes the break from training or competing caused by an injury could alleviate burnout symptoms. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and a modified version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Independent sample t tests indicated that currently injured athletes (n=150) had significantly lower mean Burnout scores than currently uninjured athletes (n=113). Small, but statistically significant, positive correlations were found between number of injuries and Burnout scores. Possible explanations are that injury provides a temporary break from intense sporting involvement and, thus, lower scores on Burnout, but multiple injuries might have a cumulative effect on burnout.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences, University of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grylls
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spittle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003710:Demography; D003861:Depersonalization / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires