Abstract
The study aimed at verifying the level of
psychological burnout among referees of team sports in Palestine. It also aimed
at identifying the differences in the level of psychological burnout according
to the variables of (refereeing experience, type of sport, the refereeing role,
happiness of working as a referee, and the satisfaction of the federation’s
support for referees). To achieve this purpose, the study was conducted on a
sample of (126) referees from the federations of football, volleyball, basketball,
and handball. The participants responded to the Scale of "Burnout in
Refereeing" that was developed by Alawi (1998). The results of the study
showed that the level of psychological burnout among referees of team sports
was within the moderate level. Moreover, the results indicated statistically
significant differences in the level of psychological burnout among referees,
and which can be attributed to the variables of (refereeing experience, type of sport, the refereeing role, happiness
of working as a referee, and the satisfaction of the federation’s support for
referees). The study found that the level of psychological burnout was
less among the more experienced referees compared to the less experienced ones,
assistant referees compared to main referees, referees of volleyball compared
to referees of other sports, referees who are happy to work as referees
compared to unhappy referees, and referees who are satisfied with the
federation’s support compared to the referees who are not satisfied with the federation’s
support. The study recommended the necessity of preparing less experienced
referees psychologically through conducting counseling and psychological
courses to refine the referees’ characters and enhance their positive feelings
towards their profession. Furthermore, it is vital to pay attention to
developing appropriate organizational support strategies to improve the
referees’ working conditions and enhance their job satisfaction.
