ISSN: 1132-239X

The burnout syndrome is associated with the perception that personal resources are not sufficient or are inadequate to handle stress. As a result, the individual develops negative attitudes, conduct and feelings that entail problems associated with physical and emotional exhaustion in the work environment (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). Mainly diagnosed in professions that demand direct contact with its users and constant interpersonal relations, such as education, health and security, burnout is a psychological syndrome in response to chronic stressors that intervene in interpersonal relations at work (Maslach, Schaufeli and Leiter, 2001). With its multidimensional nature, professional exhaustion involves three basic components: 1) emotional exhaustion, with feelings of extreme fatigue and perception of an inability to “give of oneself ” in terms of affection; 2) depersonalization, with the development of cynical attitudes and negative feelings; 3) dissatisfaction with one’s professional achievements, with the tendency to evaluate oneself negatively, especially in relations with users or clients, with feelings of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with one’s achievements at work (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). In the context of sports, burnout must be defined according to the athletes ’ performance, which is the fundamental element for these professionals (Hill and Appleton, 2001; Raedeke, 1997). For athletes, professional exhaustion can be the result of demands from training and competitions associated with a perception of poor professional performance in terms of athletic skills and yiel