Associations among sleep quality, physical activity enjoyment, and burnout in elite male taekwondo athletes: a structural equation modeling study

The aim of this study is to examine, within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, the associations of sleep quality with enjoyment derived from physical activity and burnout among elite male taekwondo athletes. The study was conducted using a quantitative research design, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. Surveys were administered to 215 elite taekwondo athletes competing in various cities across Türkiye; after excluding six invalid questionnaires, a total of 209 responses were retained for analysis. The results revealed that poorer sleep quality was strongly associated with higher burnout levels (β = 0.53, p < .001), and that enjoyment was significantly associated with lower burnout levels (β = –0.30, p < .001). In line with these findings, sleep quality and enjoyment emerged as significant predictors of burnout: poorer sleep quality was associated with increased burnout, while greater enjoyment was associated with lower levels of burnout.