Burnout syndrome and coping strategies in athletes with disabilities: a systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to synthesize the literature on burnout and coping in athletes with disabilities and identify the psychological and physical variables associated with burnout and coping in this population. The present study was conducted in accordance with the updated PRISMA 2020 systematic review guidelines. The Scopus, PubMed/Medline, PsycINFO, SciELO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched. Eight articles were included in the study. Five of them investigated coping, and three investigated burnout. Their sample sizes ranged between 10 and 209 athletes with a total of 588 from the eight studies. Burnout was associated with socially prescribed perfectionism and sleep, and coping was associated with self-determined motivation, engagement, anxiety, depression, performance, and classification. This is the first systematic review of burnout and coping in athletes with disabilities that provides an overview of the studies conducted. Scientific research on the psychological constructs of coping and burnout in athletes with disabilities is in an incipient phase. The results highlight the key factors associated with burnout and coping in this population, which may inform targeted intervention strategies.