Passion And Exercise Addiction: Healthier Profiles In Team Than In Individual Sports

New evidence suggests that passion is linked to exercise addiction. The objective of this work was to determine the strength of the relationship between exercise addiction, obsessive passion, and harmonious passion in team versus individual sports. Athletes (n = 190) from three team and three individual sports were examined. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that obsessive passion and harmonious passion were significant (p < .001) predictors (R-2 = .39) of exercise addiction. Obsessive passion accounted for 25% and 50% of the variance in team and individual sports, respectively. Harmonious passion added little to the shared variance (3-4%). The levels of risk for exercise addiction were identical (15%) in the two groups. In team sports, harmonious passion was higher than in individual sports (p < .001). The current results suggest that profiles of passion in team sports are superior to those in individual sports, while the risk for exercise addiction is similar.