Mental toughness and burnout in junior athletes: A longitudinal investigation

•Does mental toughness predict changes in athlete burnout?•We adopted a two-wave longitudinal design.•Mental toughness predicted decreases in burnout.•Mental toughness may protect junior athletes from burnout symptoms.

ObjectivesMental toughness correlated negatively with burnout in several cross-sectional studies. It is unclear, however, whether mental toughness predicts changes in athlete burnout over time.DesignTwo-wave longitudinal design.MethodWe examined mental toughness and burnout in 93 junior athletes (mean age 17.7 years) across a three-month period of active training.ResultsRegression analyses revealed that mental toughness predicted residual decreases in total burnout, reduced sense of accomplishment, physical and emotional exhaustion, and devaluation over time.ConclusionAs such, mental toughness may offer athletes protection from the experience of burnout symptoms in sport.