Donovan, Stephanie (2010) Investigating Coping Styles, Optimism, Resilience, Overtraining, and Athlete Burnout in Adolescent Athletes. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
vAthlete burnout has become a serious concern within the sporting community because of the negative psychological and physical consequences it has on the welfare and sporting careers of athletes. There is an absence of sport research that has examined adolescent athlete burnout and overtraining and the potential protective factors of coping, optimism and resilience. Given that these protective like factors may prevent or reduce the likelihood of an adolescent athlete to experience burnout, examining how these factors are related to athlete burnout and overtraining is imperative. The first aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between athlete burnout, overtraining, engagement and disengagement coping styles, optimism, and resilience. The second aim was to explore the mediating effects of coping styles, optimism, and resilience on athlete burnout and overtraining. Participants involved in this study were pre-elite and non-elite athletes aged between 13-18 years (N = 195, M = 16.17, SD = 1.21). Participants’ perceptions of athlete burnout were measured using the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). Overtraining was measured using the Short Overtraining Symptoms Questionnaire (SOSQ). Coping styles of athletes were assessed using the Coping Checklist for Sport (CCS), while the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R) was employed to measure dispositional optimism. Lastly the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CDRISC-10) was utilised to measure resilience in athletes. Results indicated that an engagement coping style, high optimism and resilience were associated with low levels of athlete burnout (sport devaluation and reduced accomplishment dimensions), whilst a disengagement coping style was associated with high levels of athlete burnout (sport devaluation, reduced accomplishment, and emotional/physical exhaustion dimensions). A disengagement coping style, low optimism and resilience were also found to be associated with high levels of overtraining. Mediation analyses revealed that disengagement coping, optimism and resilience were also partial mediators in the overtraining and athlete burnout relationship. The results of this study have implications for intervention programs that aim to reduce adolescent athletes’ vulnerability to overtraining and burnout, and provide support for athletes to continue their sport participation and success, though further research is needed to confirm the current study’s findings.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Lamont-Mills, Andrea |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Psychology) |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Jan 2026 06:49 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jan 2026 06:49 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52279 |
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