Predicting adolescents' continuation in club sports: A prospective cohort study of the importance of personal and contextual motivational factors in five sports in Denmark.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the influence of types of motivation, basic psychological needs satisfaction and of a coach-created motivational climate on continued participation in youth sports across types of sport, competitive levels, ages, and gender. METHODS: Participants were 7110 adolescent (age 12-20 years) members of leisure time club organized in basketball, handball, football, badminton, and gymnastics in Denmark. Motivational regulation was measured with BRSQ-6, basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration were measured with PNSS-S, and coach-created climate was measured with the EDMCQ-C. The participants' continuation or dropout was measured at the beginning of the following season with a short electronic questionnaire. RESULTS: Intrinsic motivation, identified behavior regulation, experiences of competence, relatedness, and autonomy, as well as a coach-created empowering motivational climate, were associated with continuation both in the sport and in the club the following season across different sports, genders, age groups, and competitive levels. Introjected and external behavior regulation, frustrations with the need to experience competence, relatedness, and autonomy, as well as a disempowering coach-created climate, were associated with dropout. CONCLUSION: In Danish youth sports, autonomous motivation, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and an empowering coach-created motivational climate have a positive impact on the continuation of the sport and the club the following season. In contrast, controlled types of motivation, needs frustration, and a disempowering coach-created climate are associated with dropout. This is the case at both elite and recreational levels, for boys and girls, adolescents, and youth.

Factorial validity, predictive validity and measurement invariance of the Danish version of the coach-created Empowering Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire (EDMCQ-C).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to translate and validate a Danish version of the coach-created Empowering and Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire (EDMCQ-C), retest the factor structure and provide further investigation into the psychometric properties in terms of measurement invariance across gender, age and competitive level, reliability and predictive validity. METHODS: The participants were 1719 male and 551 female Danish football players 12-20 years of age (M = 14.81) playing at recreational, medium and elite levels. Participants filled in EDMCQ-C as well as questionnaires measuring psychological needs (BPNESS) and behaviour regulation (BRSQ). Factor structure of the EDMCQ-C was tested using Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling. To test whether the factor structure differed across gender, age group and competitive level, an invariance analysis comparing configurational, metric and scalar models was conducted. RESULTS: EDMCQ-C showed good psychometric properties and measurement invariance across age, gender and competitive level. Both dimensions of EDMCQ-C were associated to needs satisfaction and behaviour regulation in expected directions and had high internal consistency. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence for the reliability of the two dimensions of EDMCQ-C, their predictive validity and for measurement invariance across age, gender and competitive level and provides a Danish version of the EDMCQ with sound psychometric properties.

Perfectionism and performance-related psychobiosocial states: The mediating role of competition appraisals.

Using the multi-states (MuSt) theory as a framework, the present study focused on the individual (personality) antecedents of psychobiosocial states. Psychobiosocial states comprise emotional subjective experiences and their correlates (cognitive, motivational, volitional, bodily, motor-behavioural, operational, and communicative), that can be functional for performance (helpful) or dysfunctional (harmful). Specifically, we examined the relationships between two perfectionism dimensions (perfectionistic strivings and concerns) and functional and dysfunctional psychobiosocial states. The hypothesized mediational role of competitive appraisals was also tested. Participants (N = 271, 138 female, 133 male, M age = 22.74 ± 7.01) completed questionnaires assessing the targeted variables. Structural equation modelling revealed that perfectionistic strivings were positive predictors of functional states directly and via challenge appraisals. On the other hand, perfectionistic concerns were positive predictors of dysfunctional states directly and via threat appraisals. Results provide support to MuSt theory and extend the literature on the antecedents of athletes' performance-related feeling states. Findings also provide support for the holistic conceptualization of psychobiosocial states encompassing the functionality dimension. The results highlight the importance of developing interventions aimed at helping athletes high in perfectionistic concerns evaluate situations as a challenge (and less of a threat) and increasing their perceived resources.Highlights Perfectionistic strivings positively related to functional psychobiosocial statesPerfectionistic concerns positively related to dysfunctional psychobiosocial statesCompetitive challenge appraisals mediated the relationship between perfectionistic strivings and functional psychobiosocial statesCompetitive threat appraisals mediated the relationship between perfectionistic concerns and dysfunctional psychobiosocial states.

Measurement invariance of the empowering and disempowering motivational climate questionnaire-coach in youth sport.

The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance (across five languages, two time points, and two experimental conditions) of the empowering and disempowering motivational climate questionnaire-coach (EDMCQ-C; Appleton et al., 2016) when completed by 9256 young sport participants (M age = 11.53 years, SD = 1.39 years; 13.5% female). Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the validity of a 2-factor (empowering and disempowering) model running a multiple group analysis without any equality constraint (configural invariance) followed by measurement invariance of factor loadings and thresholds (scalar invariance). Findings provided support for partial invariance across languages and scalar invariance across time and experimental groups. The factors were interpretable across the analyses, and items loaded as intended by theory except for item 15. This study provides further evidence regarding the psychometric properties of the EDMCQ-C and suggests this scale (minus item 15) can be used to provide meaningful latent mean comparisons (Marsh et al., 2013) of empowering and disempowering coach-created climates across athletes speaking the five targeted languages, across time, and across experimental groups.

Perceptions of Motivational Climate and Association with Musculoskeletal Injuries in Ballet Dancers.

OBJECTIVE: Sports science has identified the trainer-athlete relationship in the etiology of injuries. We aimed to investigate: 1) the association between empowering (EMC) and disempowering (DMC) motivational-climate and musculoskeletal injuries in ballet, and 2) if EMC moderates the association between DMC and injuries. METHODS: A cross-sectional cohort survey-study was conducted online among ballet dancers (>18 yrs old) reporting acute and overuse injuries of the previous 2 years. Motivational climate was assessed with the Empowering-and-Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire (5-point Likert scale). The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre Overuse Injury Questionnaire assessed severity of overuse injuries. Linear regression was performed adjusted for the confounders age, sex, expertise, experience, and initiation-age with an interaction term between EMC and DMC to assess effect modification. RESULTS: An international sample of 189 dancers (26.7±7.9 yrs; 130 professionals) reported 197 acute and 465 overuse injuries (in the previous 2 years). Mean EMC was 3.1±1.07, DMC 3.3±1.08. EMC was associated with less acute (b=-0.22; 95%CI -0.40 to -0.04) and overuse injuries (b=-0.74; 95%CI -0.99 to -0.50), while DMC was associated with more injuries (acute: b=0.30; 95%CI 0.13 to 0.47; overuse: b=0.74; 95%CI 0.50 to 0.98). When tested together and adjusted for confounders, EMC lost its protective effect (acute: b=-0.15; 95%CI -0.19 to 0.49; overuse: b=-0.34; 95%CI -0.81 to 0.13). DMC was positively associated with injuries throughout all settings (acute: b=0.43; 95%CI 0.10 to 0.76; overuse: b=0.46; 95%CI 0.00 to 0.91). EMC showed no moderating effects on DMC in the adjusted models. CONCLUSION: To avoid injuries, it is not enough to create an EMC, because any disempowering nuances may negatively affect empowering climates. Teachers should avoid DMC altogether to prevent injuries in dancers.

Correction: Ruiz et al. Social Environmental Antecedents of Athletes' Emotions. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4997.

In the original article [...].

Social Environmental Antecedents of Athletes' Emotions.

The coach-created motivational climate influences variations in athletes' motivation and emotional experiences. The present study aimed to examine social environmental antecedents of athletes' emotions. Participants (N = 262, 52% female, M age = 22.75 ± 6.92) completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of coach-created motivational climates, goal orientations, motivation regulations, and emotions. The mediation effects of goal orientations (i.e., task/ego) and motivation regulations (i.e., autonomous/controlled) on the relationship between motivational climate (i.e., empowering/disempowering) and emotions (i.e., happiness, excitement, anxiety, dejection, and anger) were examined. Structural equation modeling revealed positive direct effects of perceptions of an empowering motivational climate on happiness. Indirect effects of empowering climate to happiness and excitement via task orientation and autonomous motivation emerged. Perceptions of a disempowering climate positively predicted anxiety, dejection, and anger via ego orientation and controlled motivation. Overall, the findings have implications for coach education as they highlight the importance of creating more empowering environments and avoiding or reducing social comparisons.

Examining the Mediating Role of Motivation in the Relationship between Multidimensional Perfectionism and Well- and Ill-Being in Vocational Dancers.

Perfectionism is considered to be an important personality factor within the dance context given the high number of dancers whose psychological health is influenced by its consequences. The relationship between perfectionism and dancers' well- and ill-being can be mediated by a range of variables. The present study explores the role of forms of motivation (i.e., autonomous motivation, controlled motivation and amotivation) as mediators in the relationship between perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented and socially prescribed) and an indicator of well-being (i.e., subjective vitality) and ill-being (i.e., burnout). Participants of the study were 146 male and female Spanish vocational dancers aged between 12 and 26 years old (Mean age = 15.40 ± 2.96) who completed questionnaires measuring the variables of interest. Results of multiple mediator regression analyses showed that amotivation mediated the relationships between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism with burnout and subjective vitality. Self-oriented perfectionism was negatively correlated, and socially prescribed perfectionism positively associated with amotivation. Amotivation of dancers was a positive predictor of burnout and a negative predictor of subjective vitality. Overall, the findings corroborate the importance of amotivation in the relationship between perfectionism dimensions and well-being and ill-being in dancers.

Both the "What" and "Why" of Youth Sports Participation Matter; a Conditional Process Analysis.

This study builds on previous research combining achievement goal orientation from Achievement Goal Theory and motivational regulation from Self-Determination Theory. The aim was to assess the combination of the "what" and "why" of youth sport activity, and how it relates to the need for competence and self-esteem. Achievement goal orientation, specifically task and ego, was employed to represent the "what", whilst intrinsic and external regulation reflected the "why". Based on a sample of 496 youth sports participants, structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping procedure was used to examine whether the indirect relationship between achievement goal orientation and self-esteem was conditional to motivational regulation. The results show partial support for the conditional process models. Specifically, task orientation was indirectly linked with self-esteem through competence need, and the relationship was stronger with higher levels of intrinsic regulation for sport. Furthermore, ego orientation was negatively associated with self-esteem through a positive relationship with competence frustration. However, this relationship emerged only for those higher in intrinsic regulation. External regulation did not emerge as a moderator, but presented a positive relationship with competence frustration. Findings are discussed in light of both Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and underline the importance of considering both the "what" and "why" when attempting to understand motivation in youth sport.

Observing the coach-created motivational environment across training and competition in youth sport.

Adopting an integrated achievement goal (Nicholls, J. G. (1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.) and self-determination theory (Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01) perspective as proffered by Duda, J. L. (2013). (The conceptual and empirical foundations of empowering coachingTM: Setting the stage for the PAPA project. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 311-318. doi:10.1080/1612197X.2013.839414), the aim of the current study was to observe empowering and disempowering features of the multidimensional motivational coaching environment in training and competition in youth sport. Seventeen grass-roots soccer coaches were observed and rated in training and competitive settings using the multidimensional motivational climate observation system (MMCOS; Smith, N., Tessier, D., Tzioumakis, Y., Quested, E., Appleton, P., Sarrazin, P., … Duda, J. L. (2015). Development and validation of the multidimensional motivational climate observation system (MMCOS). Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 37, 4-22. doi:10.1123/jsep.2014-0059). In line with our hypotheses, coaches created different motivational environments in the two contexts. More specifically, coaches were observed to create a less empowering and more disempowering environment in competition compared to in training. The observed differences were underpinned by distinctive motivational strategies used by coaches in the two contexts. Findings have implications for the assessment of the coach-created motivational environment and the promotion of quality motivation for young athletes taking part in grass-roots-level sport.

Empowering youth sport environments: Implications for daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and adiposity.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests involvement in youth sport does not guarantee daily guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are met, and participation may not mitigate the risks associated with physical inactivity. The need to promote higher habitual MVPA engagement amongst children active in the youth sport context has therefore been underlined. Framed by self-determination theory, the aim of the present study was to examine the implications of the motivational climate created in youth sport, for children's daily engagement in MVPA and associated adiposity. Specifically, we sought to test a motivational sequence in which children's perceptions of an empowering coach-created motivational climate were related to autonomous and controlled motivation, which in turn predicted sport-related enjoyment. Finally, enjoyment was assumed to predict accelerometer assessed daily MVPA and, following this, adiposity. METHODS: Male and female youth sport participants aged 9-16 years (n = 112) completed multi-section questionnaires assessing their perceptions of the motivational climate created in youth sport (i.e., autonomy supportive, task involving, socially supportive), autonomous and controlled motivation, and sport-related enjoyment. Daily MVPA engagement was determined via 7 days of accelerometry. Percent body fat (BF%) was estimated using bio-electrical impedance analysis. RESULTS: Path analysis revealed perceptions of an empowering motivational climate positively predicted players' autonomous motivation, and in turn, sport-related enjoyment. Enjoyment was also significantly negatively related to players' BF%, via a positive association with daily MVPA. CONCLUSION: Fostering more empowering youth sport environments may hold implications for the prevention of excess adiposity, through encouraging higher habitual MVPA engagement. Findings may inform the optimal design of youth sport settings for MVPA promotion, and contribute towards associated healthy weight maintenance amongst youth active in this context. Longitudinal and intervention studies are required to confirm these results.

Team perfectionism and team performance: a prospective study.

Perfectionism is a personality characteristic that has been found to predict sports performance in athletes. To date, however, research has exclusively examined this relationship at an individual level (i.e., athletes' perfectionism predicting their personal performance). The current study extends this research to team sports by examining whether, when manifested at the team level, perfectionism predicts team performance. A sample of 231 competitive rowers from 36 boats completed measures of self-oriented, team-oriented, and team-prescribed perfectionism before competing against one another in a 4-day rowing competition. Strong within-boat similarities in the levels of team members' team-oriented perfectionism supported the existence of collective team-oriented perfectionism at the boat level. Two-level latent growth curve modeling of day-by-day boat performance showed that team-oriented perfectionism positively predicted the position of the boat in midcompetition and the linear improvement in position. The findings suggest that imposing perfectionistic standards on team members may drive teams to greater levels of performance.

The mediating role of psychological need satisfaction in relationships between types of passion for sport and athlete burnout.

Research indicates that obsessive and harmonious passion can explain variability in burnout through various mediating processes (e.g., Vallerand, Paquet, Phillippe, & Charest, 2010). The current study extended previous research (Curran, Appleton, Hill, & Hall, 2011; Gustafsson, Hassmén, & Hassmén, 2011) by testing a model in which the effects of passion for sport on athlete burnout were mediated by psychological need satisfaction. One hundred and seventy-three academy soccer players completed self-report measures of passion for sport, psychological need satisfaction, and athlete burnout. Results indicated that psychological need satisfaction mediated the relationship between harmonious passion and athlete burnout but not obsessive passion and athlete burnout. The findings indicate that the inverse relationship between harmonious passion and burnout can be explained by higher levels of psychological need satisfaction. However, this was not the case for obsessive passion, which was not associated with psychological need satisfaction or most symptoms of athlete burnout.

The predictive ability of the frequency of perfectionistic cognitions, self-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism in relation to symptoms of burnout in youth rugby players.

Perfectionism has been identified as an antecedent of athlete burnout. However, to date, researchers examining the relationship between perfectionism and athlete burnout have measured perfectionism at a trait level. The work of Flett and colleagues (Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, & Gray, 1998) suggests that perfectionism can also be assessed in terms of individual differences in the frequency with which they experience perfectionistic cognitions. The aims of this study were to: (1)examine the relationship between the frequency of perfectionistic cognitions and symptoms of athlete burnout; and (2)determine whether the frequency of perfectionistic cognitions account for additional unique variance in symptoms of athlete burnout above the variance accounted for by self-oriented and socially prescribed dimensions of perfectionism. Two-hundred and two male rugby players (mean age 18.8 years, s = 2.9, range 16-24) were recruited from youth teams of professional and semi-professional rugby union clubs in the UK. Participants completed measures of trait perfectionism, frequency of perfectionistic cognitions, and symptoms of athlete burnout. The frequency of perfectionistic cognitions was positively related to all symptoms of athlete burnout and explained 3-4% unique variance in symptoms of athlete burnout after controlling for self-oriented and socially prescribed dimensions of perfectionism. Findings suggest that the frequency with which perfectionistic cognitions are experienced may also be an antecedent of athlete burnout. Perfectionistic cognitions should, therefore, be considered in both future models of the relationship between perfectionism and athlete burnout, as well as interventions aimed at reducing perfectionism fuelled burnout.

Examining the influence of the parent-initiated and coach-created motivational climates upon athletes' perfectionistic cognitions.

The aims of this study are threefold. First, we investigate the influence of the parent-initiated motivational climate upon elite junior athletes' perfectionistic cognitions. Second, we examine whether the coach-created motivational climate predicts additional variance in elite junior athletes' perfectionistic cognitions beyond the effects associated with the parent-initiated motivational climate. Third, we test the moderating role of athletes' gender and age in the relationship between the parent-initiated and coach-created motivational climates and athletes' perfectionistic cognitions. A total of 190 elite junior athletes (mean age 15.2 years, s = 1.5, range 10-18) completed the Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Questionnaire-2 (White & Duda, 1993), the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (Newton, Duda, & Yin, 2000), and the Perfectionistic Cognitions Inventory (Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, & Gray, 1998). Regression analyses revealed that mother- and father-initiated worry-conducive climates, the father-initiated success-without-effort climate, and the coach-created performance motivational climate predicted male athletes' perfectionistic cognitions. Female athletes' perfectionistic cognitions were predicted by the mother-initiated worry-conducive climate, father-initiated learning-enjoyment climate, and both dimensions of the coach-created climate. Finally, athletes' gender emerged as a significant moderator of the mother-initiated worry-conducive climate and athletes' perfectionistic cognitions relationship. Findings confirm that the parent-initiated motivational climate is a significant predictor of athletes' perfectionism-related thoughts, and provide initial support for the influence of the coach-created motivation climate over children's perfectionistic cognitions.

Perfectionism and athlete burnout in junior elite athletes: the mediating role of coping tendencies.

Recent research indicates that some dimensions of perfectionism are positively related to athlete burnout, whereas others are negatively related to athlete burnout. The divergent relationship between these dimensions of perfectionism and athlete burnout may be explained by different coping tendencies. The present investigation examined whether different coping tendencies mediate the relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. Two-hundred and six junior elite athletes (M age=15.15 years, SD=1.88 years, range=11-22 years) completed measures of self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, coping tendencies, and athlete burnout. Structural equation modeling indicated that the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and athlete burnout was mediated by different coping tendencies. Higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism was related to higher levels of avoidant coping which, in turn, was related to higher levels of athlete burnout. In contrast, higher levels of self-oriented perfectionism was related to higher levels of problem-focused coping and lower levels of avoidant coping which, in turn, was related to lower levels of athlete burnout. The findings suggest that different coping tendencies may underpin the divergent relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed dimensions of perfectionism and athlete burnout.