The relationship between stress, occupational burnout, and retirement intention Among 179 elite athletes

BackgroundEarly retirement among elite athletes is prevalent, yet research remains limited on the occupational mental health of athletes in western China.ObjectiveThis study explores the relationships between stress, occupational burnout, and retirement intention among elite athletes in Sichuan Province, and verifies an indirect association model.MethodsStratified random sampling was employed to select 179 elite athletes from Sichuan Province. Surveys were conducted using the Athlete Stressor Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-Athlete version) and Athlete Retirement Intention Questionnaire.ResultsEmotional exhaustion was significantly positively correlated with depersonalisation (r = 0.423, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with personal accomplishment (r = -0.386, p < 0.01). Hierarchical regression identified four key correlates of retirement intention: emotional exhaustion (β = 0.382), years of training (β = 0.205), personal accomplishment (β = -0.231) and age (β = 0.217). Together, these four variables explained 40.2% of the variance. Both training and competition stress and communication stress showed patterns consistent with full indirect association with retirement intention via emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation; the indirect pathways accounted for 97.3% and 83.3% of the total associations, respectively.ConclusionOccupational burnout acts as an indirect link between stress and retirement intention among elite Sichuan athletes, with emotional exhaustion as the core influencing factor. Communication stress showed stronger indirect associations with retirement intention than training and competition stress. Intervention strategies should be developed to alleviate emotional exhaustion, enhance personal accomplishment and improve communication mechanisms.