The Effect of Sport Type and Performance Level on Emotional Expressiveness and Emotional Exhaustion in Athletes

Background: Emotional fatigue and emotional expressiveness are critical psychological factors that affect athletes' mental health and performance. These variables may vary depending on the type of sport (team vs. individual) and the athlete's performance level (professional vs. amateur). Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effects of sport type and performance level on emotional fatigue and emotional expressiveness among athletes. Methods: The sample consisted of 80 athletes, equally divided into team sports (football, basketball, volleyball) and individual sports (bodybuilding, track and field, parkour), and further stratified into professional (n = 20 per subgroup) and amateur athletes (n = 20 per subgroup). The mean ages ± SD were as follows: amateur team sport athletes (21.8 ± 2.5), professional team sport athletes (26.3 ± 3.2), amateur individual sport athletes (22.5 ± 2.7), and professional individual sport athletes (27.1 ± 3.5). Emotional fatigue and emotional expressiveness were assessed using the Maslach Emotional Fatigue Questionnaire (1981) and the Emotional Expressiveness Questionnaire (King & Emmons, 1990), respectively. Non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U) were used due to non-normal data distribution. Results: Amateur athletes exhibited significantly higher emotional fatigue than professional athletes in both team and individual sports, whereas emotional expressiveness did not significantly differ by performance level. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of targeted mental health interventions for amateur athletes across different sport disciplines.