The Relationship between Perfectionism and Burnout among Physically-Motionally Disabled Elite Athletes

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perfectionism and burnout among physically-motionally disabled elite athletes. The sample consisted of 118 athletes (mean age 24.83±5.74 yrs, athletic experiences 12.43±6.53 yrs, and competitive experiences 8.39±4.40 yrs) who attended in Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. The participants voluntarily completed the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (Haase & Prapavessis, 2004) and the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001). The results of Pearson correlation coefficients indicated that (1) positive perfectionism had significant and negative relationships with the reduced sense of accomplishment, emotional/physical exhaustion, devaluation, and total level of burnout, and (2) negative perfectionism had significant relationship with only the reduced sense of accomplishment. The results of regression analysis indicated that positive perfectionism was the only determinant of total level of burnout. The findings indicate that the positive perfectionism tendencies are effective in preventing ruining effects of burnout in physically disabled elite athletes.