Athlete Burnout Is Associated With Perceived Likelihood of Future Injury Among Healthy Adolescent Athletes

Abstract

We examined perceived risk of future sports injury and athlete burnout among uninjured adolescent athletes. Uninjured high school athlete participants completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) and a questionnaire assessing attitudes toward likelihood of sustaining a future sport-related injury. We compared ABQ responses between injury risk perception groups: those who expected injury versus those who did not. Half of the participants reported a somewhat/very high likelihood of future sport-related injury (n = 98; 52% female; age = 15.3 ± 1.9 years), while the other half reported it was unlikely/not possible (n = 98; 45% female; age = 15.3 ± 1.3 years). A significantly greater proportion of those in the expected injury group reported a history of bone/muscle/ligament/tendon injury (56% vs 24%; P < .001). Those in the expected injury group reported higher athlete burnout scores (median = 28 [interquartile range = 25-34] vs 25 [23-30]; P = .002). Adolescent athletes who reported they were likely to experience a future injury in their sport also reported greater levels of burnout.