Mindfulness training in swimming: Efforts to reduce burnout and stress in junior athletes

Abstract

Purpose. The application of mindfulness training in sports activities showed enhancement, but lack of evidence about the effects of mindfulness associated with burnout and stress in junior swimming athletes through mixed research methods which created a gap in this study. Therefore, this research analyzed the effects of mindfulness on burnout and stress. Material and methods. Mixed method research with 51 junior swimming athletes involved in this study. In this quantitative research, burnout level was measured using the Burnout Scale for University Athletes, while stress level was measured using The Perceived Stress Scale. The instruments in qualitative research involved in-depth interviews. Results. First, the finindings of the quantitative research found that there were no differences in burnout and stress scores in the mindfulness and control groups at the baseline stage (p≥0.05), but there were differences at the post stage (p ≤ 0.05). While the results of the qualitative research showed diverse perceptions of participants including the advantage, drawbacks and impact of mindfulness training. Conclusions. Thus, our research confinirms and highlights that mindfulness training is proven to be an alternative and solution for athletes in reducing burnout and stress levels intended for junior swimming athletes.