Social support and achievement motivation: Can they alleviate burnout in swimming athletes?

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. In the world of sport, boredom is detrimental because it can affect performance and decrease achievement. Coaches and athletes should pay attention to boredom as an early potential warning signal to potentially become more severe. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of social support and achievement motivation in alleviating burnout in swimming athletes. Materials and Methods. This quantitative research employs an ex post facto approach. The participants in this study were members of the Sleman Regency swimming club in Yogyakarta, totaling 73 athletes (43 males, 30 females). The social support instrument used was The Perceived Available Support in Sport Questionnaire (PASSQ), the motivation instrument used was The Sports Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), and the burnout instrument used was the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). The analysis was performed using regression techniques in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 software. Results. The results showed that social support (t = ‑2.773, p = 0.007) and achievement motivation (t = ‑2.777, p = 0.007) had a negative and significant effect on burnout in swimming athletes. Conclusions. It can be concluded that social support and achievement motivation can alleviate burnout in swimming athletes, with an influence of 31.20%.