The aims of the study were to identify naturally occurring competitive emotional profiles and examine whether participants from several profiles significantly differed on burnout and coping. A sample of 424 competitive athletes (Mage = 32.38; SD = 13.16) completed a series of self-report questionnaires. Comparing the sample as a whole, cluster analyses revealed two emotional profiles: (a) High unpleasant emotions and low pleasant emotions; and (b) moderately high pleasant emotions and low unpleasant emotions. Results of MANOVAs showed significant differences across emotional profiles on burnout (emotional/physical exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, sport devaluation) and coping (resignation, distancing, venting emotions and mental distraction). Therefore, results suggested that an emotion profile approach offered a robust heuristic for examining emotions in a more holistic method to unpack their complex associations with key outcomes (coping, burnout) and they have implications for intervention.
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