Luke is a senior lecturer at LJMU. Luke's research interest is understanding the factors that underpin mental health problems and performance in athletes. His research primarily focusses on ascertaining the key reasons that make an athlete vulnerable to experience burnout as well as quantifying how burnout can influence an athlete including health and performance consequences. He also undertakes research that examines the development and and consequences of being more perfectionistic in a number of achievement contexts including education and sport.
Degrees
2025, York St John University, United Kingdom, PhD
2019, York St John University, United Kingdom, PG Cert in Academic Practice
2017, University of Stirling, United Kingdom, MSc Psychology of Sport
2016, University of Stirling, United Kingdom, BA (Hons) Psychology and Sports Studies
Academic appointments
Lecturer in Sport Psychology, University of Essex, University of Essex, 2021 - 2024
Journal article
Harding J, Tallent J, Sheriff K, McCann C, Cortes N, Olsson L, Shaw J, Howe L. 2025. The Reliability of Physical Performance Testing within Elite Adolescent Pre-Professional Ballet Dancers Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olsson LF, Glandorf HL, Black JF, Jeggo REK, Stanford JR, Drew KL, Madigan DJ. 2024. A multi-sample examination of the relationship between athlete burnout and sport performance Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 76 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Glandorf HL, Madigan DJ, Kavanagh O, Mallinson-Howard SH, Donachie TC, Olsson LF, Rumbold JL. 2024. Athlete burnout and mental and physical health: A three-wave longitudinal study of direct and reciprocal effects Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 13 :412-431 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Grugan MC, Olsson LF, Vaughan RS, Madigan DJ, Hill AP. 2024. Factorial validity and measurement invariance of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 73 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Nordin-Bates SM, Madigan DJ, Hill AP, Olsson LF. 2023. Perfectionism and performance in sport: Exploring non-linear relationships with track and field athletes Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 70 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Klockare E, Olsson LF, Gustafsson H, Lundqvist C, Hill AP. 2022. Sport Psychology Consultants’ Views on Working With Perfectionistic Elite Athletes The Sport Psychologist, 36 :219-227 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Madigan DJ, Olsson LF, Hill AP, Curran T. 2022. Athlete Burnout Symptoms Are Increasing: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Average Levels From 1997 to 2019 Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 44 :153-168 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olsson LF, Grugan MC, Martin JN, Madigan DJ. 2021. Perfectionism and Burnout in Athletes: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stress Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 16 :55-74 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Grugan MC, Hill AP, Mallinson-Howard SH, Donachie TC, Olsson LF, Madigan DJ, Vaughan RS. 2021. Development and initial validation of the Perfectionistic Climate Questionnaire-Sport (PCQ-S) Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 56 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Olsson LF, Madigan DJ, Hill AP, Grugan MC. 2021. Do Athlete and Coach Performance Perfectionism Predict Athlete Burnout? European Journal of Sport Science, 22 :1073-1084 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grugan MC, Hill AP, Madigan DJ, Donachie TC, Olsson LF, Etherson ME. 2021. Perfectionism in Academically Gifted Students: A Systematic Review Educational Psychology Review, 33 :1631-1673 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Olsson LF, Hill AP, Madigan DJ, Woodley G. 2020. Development of perfectionism in junior athletes: Examination of actual and perceived parental perfectionism. Journal of sports sciences, 38 :669-675 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Chapters
Madigan D, Gustafsson H, Olsson L. Reducing Burnout in Athletes DOI Publisher Url
Grugan M, Fenwick L, Olsson L. Studying Perfectionistic Climates
Award:
Outstanding Paper of the Year, Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology (SEPP), https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/spy/paper-of-the-year. 2025
Other invited event:
Understanding the Perfectionistic Working Environment, Online, Workshop delivered to Scottish Government Lawyers. 2024
Supporting Lawyers with Perfectionism., Online, Workshop delivered to Scottish Government Lawyers. 2023
Understanding mental health and anxiety in sport., Braintree, Workshop delivered to parents, coaches, and athletes from Born2tri. 2023
Controlling the Controllable, Online, Workshop delivered to elite junior athletes from Tofauti Cycling Team,. 2023
Podcast, Online, Invited guest to discuss research article: Do Athlete and Coach Performance Perfectionism Predict Athlete Burnout., https://www.fitter.co.nz/fitter-radio/2021/8/1/episode-379-luke-olsson. 2021
Motivation and Participation in Sport, York, Workshop delivered as part of Sport England Project. 2020
Supporting More Able and Talented (MAT) Learners with Perfectionism., Newtown, Wales, Workshop delivered at SEREN Network National Conference. 2019
The Perils of Perfectionism: A Tale of Three Myths, Newtown, Wales, Workshop presented at SEREN Network National Conference. 2018
Conference presentation:
A Multi-Sample Examination of the Relationship Between Athlete Burnout and Sport Performance, British Psychological Society’s Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Edinburgh, Poster presentation. 2023
Commitment and burnout in athletes: The mediating role of perceived stress, British Psychological Society’s Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Edinburgh, Oral presentation. 2023
Athlete burnout reduces sports performance: evidence from multiple samples., British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leicester, Oral presentation. 2022
Does perfectionism predict sport performance?, North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Annual Conference, Kona, Hawaii, Poster presentation. 2022
Development of perfectionism in sport: Examining the role of actual and perceived perfectionism in athlete-parent dyads., European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC Congress), Munster, Germany, Oral presentation. 2019
A longitudinal examination of the relationships between perfectionism and coping tendencies in male soccer players, British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Harrogate, Oral presentation. 2018
Parents’ Perfectionism and Junior Athlete’s Perfectionism: A Test of the Importance of Actual and Perceived Parental Perfectionism and the Same-Sex Hypothesis, British Society of Personality and Individual differences (BSPID), Edinburgh, Poster presentation. 2018
Membership of professional bodies:
Graduate Membership (GMBPSs), British Psychological Society, https://www.bps.org.uk/. 2023
BASES member, The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences | BASES, https://www.bases.org.uk/. 2018
Research Grants Awarded:
Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet PhD Studentship, Dr Jamie Tallent (University of Essex), Dr Louis Howe (University of Essex), Professor Nelson Cortes (University of Essex), Grant value (£): £38,943, Duration of research project: 3 years. 2022
Media Coverage:
Outside. How Perfectionism Leads to Athlete Burnout. (opens in a new tab) 2021
Teaching qualification:
PGCert in Academic Practice. 2019