Optimism and Burnout in Competitive Sport

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between optimism and burnout in the context of athletic competition. The sample was composed of 227 athletes that competed in wrestling at Spain’s national level. For the assessment of constructs, the Spanish version by Otero et al. (1998) of the Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) was utilized, as well as the Inventario de Burnout para Deportistas (IBD), which was an adaptation for athletic populations by Garcés de Los Fayos (1999) of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). The results demonstrate a relationship between optimism and the three dimensions of burnout, in which the athletes who are more optimistic demonstrate less emotional exhaustion, less depersonalization, and a greater perception of personal accomplishment in their athletic performance.