Professor, Student Research Burnout in School Athletes

Pair hopes findings lead to strategies to prevent physical and mental exhaustion

Long hours of studying combined with rigorous training and competing can take a toll on student-athletes. Recently, a Sacred Heart University psychology professor and a biology student teamed up to research extreme mental and physical exhaustion—burnout—among student-athletes.

Professor Mary E. Ignagni and junior Erin Burgess, a SHU field hockey player, started their research in 2021, and they aim to complete it by the end of the current semester. Specifically, they are exploring a correlation between gender and burnout, as well as student-athletes’ overall well-being and the impact coaches have on managing stress. They hope that if burnout is indeed prevalent among student-athletes, strategies can be put into place to alleviate or prevent it.

The two women joined forces after Ignagni presented research at the College of Arts & Sciences’ annual conference, CASCon, about social media and its effects on females. The subject matter intrigued Burgess, so she contacted Ignagni to offer research assistance. Ignagni responded that she had completed that project, but if Burgess thought of another topic to pursue, she would work with her. That’s when Burgess suggested researching burnout among student-athletes. “This was all Erin’s idea,” Ignagni said.

“Burnout was something I knew of, something I had experienced,” said Burgess, 20, from San Diego, CA. “I have seen it firsthand. It’s complete mental and physical exhaustion. It’s when something someone loves doing is no longer fun.” Her interest also stemmed from reports of gymnast Simone Biles’ struggles during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when the stresses of performing―in front of a global audience that held high expectations for her routines―and other pressures, led the athlete to withdraw from some competitions.

Burgess said burnout often isn’t addressed, but if people don’t investigate its causes, the problem won’t be fixed. “We need to make sure the proper supports are in place to protect student-athletes,” she said.

While their study focuses on males and females, the researchers want to determine if burnout is more prevalent in females. Ignagni said recent events suggest female athletes are not treated the same as their male counterparts, which can contribute to burnout. She recalled the 2021 NCAA tournament, when women basketball players were given a substandard weight room with limited equipment, while the men were assigned a larger, better-equipped weight room.

“Such situations add to the stress females endure. They’re putting in the same time and effort and putting their bodies on the line, but they aren’t given the same respect as males,” Ignagni said.

With those premises, Burgess and Ignagni began researching burnout in athletes to determine what had already been studied. From there, they formulated a hypothesis and sent surveys to student-athletes, including an “athlete burnout questionnaire” that asked about the students’ energy levels while playing a sport. They also shared the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, which assesses a person’s overall mental health.

“As we get the surveys back, we have to run the data,” Burgess said. From there, they will look for connections and patterns.

The two also are trying to get a larger sample size of participants so their results will be statistically significant. They work together via email and in face-to-face meetings when their schedules align, with the goal of publishing a paper on their findings.

Ignagni and Burgess will present their preliminary results in March at the Eastern Psychological Association’s annual conference in Boston, MA. They said they are thrilled to present and discuss the topic with their peers.

“I hope whatever the research shows will be taken to heart,” Burgess said. “Hopefully, our work and that of other researchers will lead to practices that prevent this type of exhaustion or determine why it happens in the first place.”