Seeking Positive Strengths in Buffering Athletes' Life Stress-Burnout Relationship: The Moderating Roles of Athletic Mental Energy

Shiow-Shya Chiou; Yawen Hsu; Yi-Hsiang Chiu; Chien-Chih Chou; Diane L Gill; Frank J Lu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03007

Seeking Positive Strengths in Buffering Athletes' Life Stress-Burnout Relationship: The Moderating Roles of Athletic Mental Energy

Front Psychol. 2020 Jan 31:10:3007. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03007. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Shiow-Shya Chiou¹, Yawen Hsu², Yi-Hsiang Chiu³, Chien-Chih Chou⁴, Diane L Gill⁵, Frank J Lu^{3

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, College of Sports and Recreation, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Department of Physical Education, Health & Recreation, National Chiayi University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Department of Physical Education, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, United States.
⁶ Graduate Institute of Sport Coaching Science, College of Education, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

In search of positive strengths that bolster athletes' reaction to stress, the purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effects of athletic mental energy on the athletes' life stress-burnout relationship. This study recruited two samples (Study 1 = 230; Study 2 = 159) and administered the College Student-Athlete's Life Stress Scale (CSALSS; Lu et al., 2012), Athletic Mental Energy Scale (AMES; Lu et al., 2018), and Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ; Raedeke and Smith, 2001). Two separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that the emotional and cognitive components of athletic mental energy moderated the athletes' life stress-burnout relationship across the two studies. Results provided the initial evidence that athletic mental energy can be positive strengths in buffering the stress-burnout relationship. Theoretical implications, limitations, practical applications, and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: competitive sports; optimal state of mind; positive psychology; psychological well-being; youth athletes.