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.

The positive association between perceived parental responsiveness and self-esteem, anxiety, and thriving among youth rugby players: A multigroup analysis.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between young players' perception of mother's and father's responsiveness with their self-esteem, anxiety (i.e., worry), and thriving (i.e., positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction). In total, 314 male British rugby players with a mean age of 16.23 years (SD = 0.26) completed the study in two phases: n = 124 (first dataset), and n = 192 (second dataset). Participants trained on average 3.14 times/week (SD = 0.94) and had been involved in rugby for an average of 8.21 years (SD = 2.89). Participants completed questionnaires measuring perceived parental responsiveness (PPR) for their mother and father, self-esteem, worry about sport performance, and thriving indicators (i.e., positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction). The results consistently indicated that participants' perceptions of their mother's and father's responsiveness positively related to thriving, and negatively related to their worry about sport performance, mediated by their self-esteem. Overall, the study highlights the need for parents to be provided with insights into the value of being responsive to their child and being encouraged to regularly talk with their child regarding their needs and desires, and seeking to understand how their child perceives the support they currently receive.

Initial psychometric testing of the coach-adapted version of the empowering and disempowering motivational climate questionnaire: A Bayesian approach.

The present study examined the psychometric properties of the coach-adapted version of the Empowering and Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire (EDMCQ) using Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM). The sample included 780 (Mage = 36.4; SD = 10.8; males n = 698; females n = 54; 28 participants did not report sex) youth sport coaches representing five European countries (i.e., England, France, Greece, Norway, and Spain). The results did not support a 34-item five-factor, hierarchical, a two-factor BSEM, or a bifactor BSEM model across the participating countries. However, the results supported a reduced 19-item first-order, two-factor BSEM model that largely showed approximate metric invariance, but not approximate scalar invariance across the five countries. The pool of items constituting empowering and disempowering motivational climates should be refined to further enhance the empirical operationalisation of the coach-adapted version of the EDMCQ. Advancing the quality of translation-back-translation procedures across cultures and conducting multi-national pilot testing seems warranted as well. These recommendations may help to identify the distinctive aspects of each underlying sub-dimension of the EDMCQ, where coaches are the respondents, and pave the way for further examination of the proposed hierarchical multidimensional factor structure and the cross-cultural equivalence of the EDMCQ for this population.

Do compensatory health beliefs predict behavioural intention in a multiple health behaviour change context? Evidence in individuals with cardiovascular diseases?

Multiple health behaviour change (MHBC) represents one of the best ways to prevent reoccurrence of cardiovascular events. However, few individuals with cardiovascular diseases engage in this process. The present study examined the role of compensatory health beliefs (CHB; i.e., belief that a healthy behaviour compensates an unhealthy one) as a drag to engagement in this process. Some studies have shown that CHBs predict intention to engage in healthy behaviours, but no study has investigated CHBs in individuals who actually need to change multiple health behaviours. The goal was to better understand the role of CHBs in intentions formation process among individuals with cardiac diseases in an MHBC context. One hundred and four patients completed a questionnaire at the beginning of their cardiac rehabilitation program. Results showed that: (1) CHBs negatively predicted intentions (2) but only for participants with high self-efficacy or low risk perception; (3) CHBs predictions differed depending on the nature of the compensating behaviour, and were more predictive when medication intake was the compensating one. Findings only partially confirmed previous research conducted on healthy individuals who were not in an MHBC process, and emphasized the importance of considering CHBs for individuals in this process.

Are coaches' health promotion activities beneficial for sport participants? A multilevel analysis.

OBJECTIVES: As major actors in sports activities, sports coaches can play a significant role in health education and contribute to the psychological well-being of young people. However, not all participants in sports activities experience sports positively, which reduces the potential benefits for health. The present study investigates if coaches' efforts to promote health increase young athletes' enjoyment, self-esteem and perceived health in daily life and decrease sport dropout. DESIGN: To control for the variability between teams and between clubs, multilevel modeling was applied. METHODS: A sample of 342 young football players completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of coaches' Health Promotion (HP) activities, enjoyment of sports, dropout intentions, self-esteem and perceived health in daily life. RESULTS: HP general score was positively related to enjoyment and perceived health as well as negatively dropout intentions. Players perceiving their coaches as promoting fair and play (Respect for oneself and others) scored higher on their perceptions of enjoyment in sport, self-esteem and self-reported health, and lower on dropout intentions. Moreover, players recognizing their coaches as encouraging their healthy lifestyle also reported higher perceptions of sport enjoyment, whereas player's perceived coaches' activities on substance use were associated with lower participants' enjoyment. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the importance of developing HP in sports clubs. Especially, promoting respect of oneself and others seems to be the more beneficial to sport participants.

Athletes' perceptions of role ambiguity and coaching competency in sport teams: a multilevel analysis.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between athletes' perceptions of role ambiguity and two theoretically derived dimensions of coaching competency (i.e., game strategy and technique competencies). A total of 243 players from 26 teams representing various interdependent sports completed French versions of the Role Ambiguity Scale and the Coaching Competency Scale. Multilevel analyses supported the existence of relationships between the four dimensions of role ambiguity and the two dimensions of coaching competency at both individual and team levels. When the levels were considered jointly, athletes perceiving greater ambiguity in their role in both offensive and defensive contexts were more critical of their coach's capacities to lead their team during competitions and to diagnose or formulate instructions during training sessions. The results also indicated that the dimension of scope of responsibilities was the main contributor to the relationship with coaching competency at an individual level, whereas role evaluation was the main contributor to this relationship at a group level. Findings are discussed in relation to the role episode model, the role ambiguity dimensions involved in the relationships according to the level of analysis considered, and the salience of ambiguity perceptions in the offensive context.

Antidepressant effects associated with different exercise conditions in participants with depression: a pilot study.

In this article, we examined the antidepressant influence of an 8-week-long aerobic exercise intervention in which two training parameters were manipulated: exercise frequency and group environment. Twenty-three individuals with elevated symptoms of depression were recruited in a sport and fitness facility and agreed to participate in this 8-week study. They were randomly assigned to three groups: (a) low-frequency exercise (control) (n = 7), (b) high-frequency exercise (n = 8), and (c) high-frequency exercise + group-based intervention (n = 8). Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) at study entry, and at 4 and 8 weeks subsequently. The results showed that those in the high-frequency aerobic exercise experimental groups reported lower depression scores than those in the low-frequency (control) group at 4 weeks (13.2 +/- 7.3 and 11.7 +/- 3.1 vs. 22.4 +/- 7.5) and 8 weeks (10.9 +/- 8.1 and 9.6 +/- 2.5 vs. 20.7 +/- 6.3). However, alleviation in depressive symptoms was not found to be greater in those participants who received a group-based intervention.

Relationships between cohesion, collective efficacy and performance in professional basketball teams: an examination of mediating effects.

The main aim of this study was to examine mediating effects in the relationships between cohesion, collective efficacy and performance in professional basketball teams. A secondary aim was to examine the correlates of collective efficacy in a professional sport. A total of 154 French and foreign professional players completed French or English versions of questionnaires about cohesion and collective efficacy. Two composite measures of individual performance were used (pre- and post-performance). Individual-level analyses were performed. Regression analyses supported two mediating relationships with collective efficacy as a mediator of the pre-performance - Group integration-task relationship, and Group integration-task as a mediator of the pre-performance - collective efficacy relationship. Statistical analyses indicated that neither Group integration-task nor collective efficacy was a better mediator in the relationship between pre-performance and the other group variables. Results also revealed positive relationships between three dimensions of cohesion (i.e. Individual attractions to the group-task, Group integration-task, Group integration-social) and collective efficacy. These findings suggest that in professional basketball teams, staff members should look after athletes who perform at a lower or below their usual level because their performances might lead them into a downward cohesion - collective efficacy spiral. Staff members should also develop a high quality of group functioning, both on and off the basketball court, given its relationship with collective efficacy.