Athlete Burnout: Recognition, Prevention, and Management

Athlete Burnout: Recognition, Prevention, and Management provides the first contemporary account of athlete burnout. Drawing on academic literature from both inside and outside of sport, this book focuses on providing the tools necessary to understand and recognise the symptoms of athlete burnout. It also informs practice by providing evidence-based intervention strategies to aid in the prevention and management of athlete burnout.

Written in a concise, user-friendly, and accessible format for athletes and coaches, this book provides novel insights for practitioners, students, and academics alike interested in athlete health and sport psychology.

Daniel Madigan is a Professor of Sport and Health Psychology at York St John University, UK. His research focuses on the predictors, consequences, and prevention of burnout in different achievement contexts. He has produced over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in this area. He holds British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences Accreditation and was previously Editor of the International Journal of Sport Psychology and Associate Editor of the European Journal of Sport Science.

Henrik Gustafsson is a Professor of Sport Science at Karlstad University, Sweden and visiting Professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Science. His research has mainly been focused on burnout in sport, including both athletes and coaches. He has published more than 100 peer-review journal articles and book chapters. He has co-edited two recent special issues on burnout and overtraining in Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology and Sport Psychiatry. He has also extensive experience working with Olympic level athletes and has been an accredited Sport Psychologist at three Olympic games.

Luke Olsson is a Lecturer in Sport Psychology at the University of Essex, UK. His research interest focuses on ascertaining the key factors that make an athlete vulnerable to experiencing burnout alongside quantifying the consequence burnout can have for an athlete. He has published a number of journal articles in the area and regularly delivers psychoeducational workshops to coaches, parents, and athletes. He is also a graduate member of the British Psychological Society.

J.D. DeFreese is a Teaching Associate Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research examines the links among athlete psychological health, including outcomes of burnout and well-being, with athlete physical health and social functioning in both current and former athletes. His work to date on athlete burnout has focused primarily on its associations with motivational and social variables (e.g., social support, negative social interactions). He co-edited a recent special issue on burnout in sport and performance in the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology for which he also serves as an Associate Editor.