Abstract

GARCIA-JARILLO, Marina; FRANCISCO, Cristina De  and  GARCES DE LOS FAYOS, Enrique J.. The burnout syndrome in athletes: pilot study on the perception of sports psychologist through the Delphi method. CPD [online]. 2016, vol.16, n.1, pp.243-250. ISSN 1989-5879.

The main objective of the current research is to conduct a preliminary study concerning perception of sport psychologists, regarding to burnout syndrome which athletes often experience. For this study, Delphi methodology has been utilized and data has been collected from a sample of 23 experts in Sport Psychology with extensive experience in psychological training with athletes. Three semi-structured Delphi questionnaires were sent consecutively by email that focused on burnout in athletes. The experts were asked about various aspects such as the definition and symptoms of burnout, physiological consequences, the stress-burnout relationship, and strategies or psychological intervention techniques. The second and third questionnaires were based on the analysis of the information extracted from the first one. Results show that the huge majority of experts believe that stress symptoms are linked with the loss of control of life -factors which are directly associated to burnout. 100% of the experts also believe that the self-concept of sports and leisure activities are variables that can affect burnout. According to the experts, the physiological consequences of burnout in athletes are tension, fatigue and irritability, emotions which do not fit well with the sport, difficulty in experiencing positive emotions like hope, positive expectations, energy, etc., a tendency where enthusiasm disappears in sports. With reference to the experts, psychological intervention strategies of choice includes: emotional control, improved self-esteem and self-concept, goal setting, intervention focused on needs, social support, organization and time management, cognitive restructuring, stress management, problem solving, and facilitation of satisfactory alternative activities.

Keywords : Burnout; athletes; Delphi method.

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