The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Exercise Addiction, Perfectionism, and Athlete Burnout
Keywords:
The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Exercise Addiction, Perfectionism, Athlete BurnoutAbstract
Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between exercise addiction, perfectionism, and athlete burnout among athletes in Tehran.
Methodology: This study employed a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of male and female athletes participating in professional and semi-professional sports clubs in Tehran during the 2021–2022athletic season. Using multistage cluster sampling, 420 athletes were initially selected, of whom 398 questionnaires were completed and analyzed. Data were collected using the Exercise Addiction Inventory, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and Athlete Burnout Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated using SPSS-27, while structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses were conducted using AMOS-24 to evaluate direct and indirect relationships among the variables.
Findings: The findings demonstrated that exercise addiction had a significant positive effect on athlete burnout (β = 0.42, p < 0.001) and a significant negative effect on self-compassion (β = -0.46, p < 0.001). Perfectionism also positively predicted athlete burnout (β = 0.35, p < 0.001) and negatively predicted self-compassion (β = -0.39, p < 0.001). Self-compassion significantly and negatively predicted athlete burnout (β = -0.51, p < 0.001). Furthermore, bootstrapping analyses confirmed the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between exercise addiction and athlete burnout (Indirect Effect = 0.27, p < 0.001), as well as between perfectionism and athlete burnout (Indirect Effect = 0.22, p < 0.001). The structural model demonstrated satisfactory fit indices (CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.057), indicating an acceptable fit between the proposed model and the observed data.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that exercise addiction and perfectionism increase the likelihood of athlete burnout both directly and indirectly through reductions in self-compassion. Self-compassion appears to function as an important protective psychological resource that buffers athletes against emotional exhaustion and maladaptive self-evaluative processes. Therefore, interventions designed to enhance self-compassion may contribute to reducing burnout symptoms and improving psychological well-being among athletes exposed to high competitive pressures and perfectionistic tendencies.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Jabar Saleh; Abbas Bagheri, Mehdi Akbarzadeh Sagay, Parastoo Godarzi, Nasrin Mohaddes (Author)
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