Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes
Specializing in a single sport may contribute to athlete burnout. The aim of this study was to compare adolescents who specialized in a sport and those without specialization in terms of athlete burnout. Furthermore, potential gender differences and the association between burnout and well-being wer...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Adolescence and Youth |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02673843.2025.2460626 |
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| author | Benedikt Hösl Hannah Oberdorfer Martin Niedermeier Martin Kopp |
| author_facet | Benedikt Hösl Hannah Oberdorfer Martin Niedermeier Martin Kopp |
| author_sort | Benedikt Hösl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Specializing in a single sport may contribute to athlete burnout. The aim of this study was to compare adolescents who specialized in a sport and those without specialization in terms of athlete burnout. Furthermore, potential gender differences and the association between burnout and well-being were investigated. Using a cross-sectional survey, 169 adolescent athletes (Mage = 16.29 years) were asked about sport specialization, athlete burnout symptoms, and psychological well-being. Non-specialized athletes reported significantly lower scores in the burnout dimension emotional/physical exhaustion (p = .030,d = -0.34), and significantly higher scores in the devaluation (p = .008,d = 0.42) and reduced sense of accomplishment dimension (p = .036,d = 0.33) than specialized athletes. Females generally showed higher burnout scores, but no significant specialization*gender interactions were found. Athlete burnout was negatively related to psychological well-being. Early warning signs should be monitored in athletes who specialize in a single sport to prevent burnout-related exhaustion; independent of this, female athletes should be particularly aware of burnout symptoms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ad37d01a6884656893aa9fe551b8208 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0267-3843 2164-4527 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Adolescence and Youth |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ad37d01a6884656893aa9fe551b82082025-01-30T11:17:30ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Adolescence and Youth0267-38432164-45272025-12-0130110.1080/02673843.2025.2460626Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletesBenedikt Hösl0Hannah Oberdorfer1Martin Niedermeier2Martin Kopp3Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, AustriaSpecializing in a single sport may contribute to athlete burnout. The aim of this study was to compare adolescents who specialized in a sport and those without specialization in terms of athlete burnout. Furthermore, potential gender differences and the association between burnout and well-being were investigated. Using a cross-sectional survey, 169 adolescent athletes (Mage = 16.29 years) were asked about sport specialization, athlete burnout symptoms, and psychological well-being. Non-specialized athletes reported significantly lower scores in the burnout dimension emotional/physical exhaustion (p = .030,d = -0.34), and significantly higher scores in the devaluation (p = .008,d = 0.42) and reduced sense of accomplishment dimension (p = .036,d = 0.33) than specialized athletes. Females generally showed higher burnout scores, but no significant specialization*gender interactions were found. Athlete burnout was negatively related to psychological well-being. Early warning signs should be monitored in athletes who specialize in a single sport to prevent burnout-related exhaustion; independent of this, female athletes should be particularly aware of burnout symptoms.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02673843.2025.2460626Athlete burnoutstresssport specializationmental healthadolescents |
| spellingShingle | Benedikt Hösl Hannah Oberdorfer Martin Niedermeier Martin Kopp Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes International Journal of Adolescence and Youth Athlete burnout stress sport specialization mental health adolescents |
| title | Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes |
| title_full | Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes |
| title_fullStr | Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes |
| title_short | Sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes |
| title_sort | sport specialization and burnout symptoms among adolescent athletes |
| topic | Athlete burnout stress sport specialization mental health adolescents |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02673843.2025.2460626 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benedikthosl sportspecializationandburnoutsymptomsamongadolescentathletes AT hannahoberdorfer sportspecializationandburnoutsymptomsamongadolescentathletes AT martinniedermeier sportspecializationandburnoutsymptomsamongadolescentathletes AT martinkopp sportspecializationandburnoutsymptomsamongadolescentathletes |