Coach and athlete burnout: The role of coaches' decision-making style

Recent burnout research has examined coaches and athletes collectively to determine the influence of coach behaviors on coach and athlete burnout. Results revealed a potential incongruity between decision-making behaviors and their influence on coach and athlete burnout. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between decision-making styles of coaches and burnout among coaches and athletes; gender influence on burnout was also examined. Collegiate swimmers and coaches completed questionnaires assessing burnout and decision-making behaviors. Results revealed a significant relationship between athlete burnout and autocratic coaching behaviors. A significant inverse relationship emerged between athlete burnout and democratic behaviors. ANOVAs revealed no significant interactions between gender and decision-making on burnout scores. Significant main effects were found for democratic behaviors on exhaustion and depersonalization subscales; swimmers classified as perceiving fewer democratic behaviors scored higher on these subscales. No significant relationships or gender differences were found with in the coaches.