Savoring Sport: Connections With Athlete Passion and Burnout
in Journal of Clinical Sport PsychologyClick name to view affiliation
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Athletes can respond to positive experiences in sport by engaging in savoring—that is, by attempting to prolong or amplify their positive feelings. In this research, the authors tested if savoring was predicted by levels of harmonious or obsessive passion for sport and if savoring was associated with symptoms of burnout. In Study 1 (n = 499), the authors found that savoring was positively associated with harmonious passion and negatively associated with obsessive passion. In addition, savoring predicted lower levels of burnout and played an indirect role in the relationship between both passion types and burnout. The authors replicated these findings in Study 2 (n = 298), with collegiate-level athletes, prospectively, over the course of a season. Overall, athletes with strong levels of harmonious passion appear to be most likely to engage in savoring, a response that may protect them from experiencing higher levels of burnout.
Schellenberg is with the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Verner-Filion is with the Département des sciences de L’éducation, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, QC, Canada. Gaudreau is with the School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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