The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of self-determined motivation, anxiety and self-confidence on athlete burnout (Raedeke, 1997) in young elite handball players. A theoretical model based on the Self Determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2002) was proposed to analyse these relationships. This model postulates that the least self-determined forms of motivation might lead to serious negatives consequences, such as lower self-confidence, higher anxiety, lower vitality, higher burnout and higher intentions to dropout. It was hypothesized that an athlete with lower self-determined motivation would have higher anxiety, lower self-confidence, lower vitality, higher intentions to dropout, and would report higher risks to burnout at season`s end. Method: A sample of 309 French handball players (152 males and 157 females) participated in this study. They trained an average of 11 hours a week (SD = 3.5). Their average age was 15.4 years (SD = .90) and the average playing experience in their sport was 6.8 years (SD = 2.4). 62.1% were playing at a national level. These athletes completed a questionnaire twice during the season, measuring: (a) sport motivation (EMS; Brière, Vallerand, Blais & Pelletier, 1995), (b) anxiety and self-confidence (EEAC; Cury, Sarrazin, Pérès & Famose, 1999), (c) subjective vitality (SSV; Ryan & Frederick, 1997), (d) future sport intentions (Sarrazin, Vallerand & Guillet, 2002), and (e) athlete burnout (ABQ; Raedeke & Smith, 2001). Results / Discussion: A structural equation model (χ²/df = 2.18, RMSEA = .06, CFI = .95, NFI = .90) revealed that self-determination has (1) a mediating and (2) direct influence on burnout. (1) A player with lower self-determined motivation, higher anxiety, lower selfconfidence, lower vitality at the beginning of the season, expressed feeling a lack of accomplishment at season`s end. A player with lower vitality, higher intentions to dropout at the beginning of the season, had higher tendencies to devalue handball at the season`s end. These findings bring new elements to light in our understanding of the athlete burnout. (2) A player with lower self-determined motivation at the beginning of the season reported higher symptoms of burnout at the end of the season. These results confirm previous study findings in that lower self-determined motivation increases the risk of burnout in young elite athletes.
© Copyright 2009 14th annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Oslo/Norway, June 24-27, 2009, Book of Abstracts. Veröffentlicht von The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / Übersetzt mit https://www.DeepL.com/Translator