Coach Burnout in Relation to Perfectionistic Cognitions and Self-Presentation

• Coaching athletes is highly rewarding yet stressful, especially at the elite level wheremedia, fans, and sponsors can contribute to an environment that, if not well-managed by the coach,can lead to burnout. Coaches who display perfectionistic tendencies, such as striving for flawlessness,may be particularly vulnerable—even more so if they are overly critical of themselves and havea tendency to ruminate over their performance, or if they are attempting to convey an image offaultlessness, or both. A total of 272 coaches completed a battery of inventories assessing burnout,perfectionistic thoughts, and the tendency for perfectionistic self-presentation. All variables correlatedsignificantly: coaches with higher scores on exhaustion scored higher both on perfectionistic thoughtsand self-presentation. However, when three subscales of perfectionistic self-presentation wereconsidered separately, lower and nonsignificant correlations emerged. We believe that this can beexplained by the heterogeneous group of coaches participating in this study. Whereas all coaches mayat times ruminate privately—self-oriented perfectionism—about their perceived failure to performto expectations, not all may feel the pressure to present themselves to others as faultless—a moresocially prescribed perfectionism. This finding warrants further investigation, preferably comparingcoaches at dierent levels of public scrutiny.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

elite sport

coaching

stress

perfectionism

exhaustion

burnout

Psychology

psykologi

Idrottsvetenskap

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)