The Role of Resilience in Student-Athletes’ Sport and School Burnout and Dropout : A Longitudinal Person-oriented Study

Abstract

Although it has been shown that student‐athletes who pursue upper secondary school alongside with an athletic career may be prone to sport and school burnout, the concrete life changes resulting from burning out, such as dropping out of sport or school, have not been investigated. Moreover, it is unknown why some student‐athletes do not burnout. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether there are different kinds of profiles—based on the level and development of sport and school burnout symptoms across upper secondary school—that can be identified among student‐athletes and how resilience and the likelihood of dropping out from sport or school differ between the profiles. The sample consisted of 491 (49% females) Finnish student‐athletes who filled in questionnaires four times during the three years of upper secondary school. The data were analyzed by using growth mixture modeling. Three burnout profiles were identified: (a) Average profile, (b) Increased burnout profile, and (c) Non‐risk profile. The profiles differed significantly in terms of student‐athletes’ resilience and the likelihood of dropping out, as those in the Increased burnout group symptoms were less resilient and more likely to dropout from sport than those in the other two groups. Furthermore, those in the Non‐risk profile were more resilient than athletes in the other two groups. The results can be used in teaching student‐athletes resilience‐related skills which can prevent them from burning out and dropping out from sport and school.