Relation of the Positive Affect in Coping with an Aggravating Burnout Tendency in Male Athletes

Abstract

In the present study we aimed to confirm that no antagonistic relation exists in the expression between positive and negative affects in male university athletes, and to examine the relation of the positive affect in coping with an aggravating burnout tendency. The subjects for analysis were 456 male university athletes belonging to athletic clubs. We evaluated the positive and negative affects that were characteristic of these athletes by the Japanese version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scales. By making an inter-group comparison of the burnout tendency that was classified by the two affects evaluated by the Athletic Burnout Inventory, we obtained the following findings:
1) It was confirmed that, even among male university athletes, the expressions of positive and negative affects did not show any mutually antagonistic relationship.
2) It was suggested that the relation of the positive affect toward the aggravated burnout tendency acted in a suppressive manner.
3) The athletes who usually had a higher level of the expression of negative affect were prone to rather show a suppressive effect from the positive affect upon the burnout tendency. This was observed for all the factors, such as a feeling of emotional exhaustion toward a sports event, a decrease in the individual sense of accomplishment, a lack of communication with his teammates, and a confused self-commitment to a sports event.