Does Ultra-Endurance Passion Make Athletes Happy?

Area of Science:

• Sport Psychology
• Exercise Science
• Psychology of Endurance Sports

Background:

• Ultra-endurance (UE) athletes' psychological traits are studied, but happiness and passion lack a unified framework.
• Research has not sufficiently investigated the contributors to happiness and passion in non-professional UE athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify key contributors to happiness and passion in non-professional UE athletes.
• Explore relationships between sport passion types, motivation, and athletic identity.

Main Methods:

• Online questionnaire administered to 116 non-professional UE athletes.
• Statistical analyses including regression and correlation were employed.

Main Results:

• Obsessive UE passion and amotivation predicted lower happiness levels.
• Extrinsic motivation, amotivation, and exclusivity identity predicted higher obsessive passion.
• Social identity and years in sports predicted lower obsessive passion; training hours and age correlated positively with passion strength.

Conclusions:

• Athlete happiness in UE sports depends on passion type and motivation quality.
• Obsessive passion and amotivation are detrimental to UE athletes' happiness.
• Preventing obsessive passion is crucial for UE athlete well-being; further research on harmonious passion is recommended.