Psychische Belastung, Burnout, Perfektionismus, Optimismus, Pessimismus und Erholungskompetenz bei professionellen Sängerinnen und Sängern Psychological Strain, Burnout, Perfectionism, Optimism, Pessimism and Recovery Skills in Professional Singers

Abstract

Only few (music-)psychological studies have investigated the health of professional singers up to now. The presented study, with a sample of N = 313 participants, is currently one of the most extensive studies that examines aspects of psychological health in professional singers. The study shows that professional singers have lower values in 16 out of 27 burnout markers in comparison with a representative sample. The other eleven burnout variables did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The predictors of the regression analysis explained up to 40 percent of the variance of the criterion burnout. The strongest predictors were recovery skills, optimism and pessimism. Perfectionism, which is strongly pronounced in musicians, could not be identified as a significant predictor. With regard to preventive or rehabilitative interventions, it seems to be more effective to concentrate on the resources (recovery skills, optimism) instead of the allegedly negative aspects (perfectionism) when it comes to (potential) burnouts of professional singers.