Athletes' Psychological Needs and Coaches' Interpersonal Behaviors: A Within-Person Latent Profile Analysis

The structural validity and latent profile characteristics of the Abbreviated Profile of Mood States among Chinese athletes

BACKGROUND

This study examines the structural validity of the Chinese version of the Abbreviated Profile of Mood States (POMS) among Chinese athletes and analyzes potential profiles to provide evidence for its effective use and recommendations for its application.

METHODS

A total of 340 Chinese athletes completed the Chinese version of the Abbreviated POMS. Initially, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to identify and verify the extractable dimensions of the Abbreviated POMS. Subsequently, the fit of the six-factor and seven-factor models of POMS was tested directly based on their theoretical structures. Finally, latent profile analysis was used to examine profiles based on the four-factor model derived from the factor analysis, six-factor model, and seven-factor model.

RESULTS

The Abbreviated POMS was refined to a four-factor model, consisting of 27 items across four factors: positive mood, anger, fatigue, and confusion. The hypothesized six-factor and seven-factor models did not demonstrate satisfactory fit, suggesting that the seven dimensions function better as independent subscales. Iceberg and inverse iceberg profiles were observed across the four-factor model, six-factor model, and seven-factor model.

CONCLUSION

The Abbreviated POMS does not support its initial hypothesized structure among Chinese athletes. Caution is advised when using the Abbreviated POMS with athletes; it is recommended to use the four-factor model or evaluate each emotion as an independent subscale. The iceberg and inverse iceberg profiles can be used to categorize athletes' emotional characteristics.

Basic Psychological Needs in the Face of Achievement Vulnerability: A Study in Young Team Athletes

The susceptibility of athletes to experience of emotional and psychological difficulties arising from the pressure and expectations associated with achieving and maintaining high performance can become a vulnerability in the desire to achieve success in sport. This study aims to investigate the protective value in the perception of satisfaction in basic psychological needs against the vulnerability that perfectionism generates in the appearance of reactivity linked to fear of failure. A cross-sectional, relational, and semi-randomized research design was used, applying perfectionism, fear of failure, and basic psychological needs measures adapted to both the competitive sports context and the Spanish language in a sample of 372 young Spanish athletes, under descriptive analyses and predictive models. The results showed that as the age of the participants increased, the indicators of perfectionism and fear of failure decreased, with no gender differences. The results offer and confirm the positive relationships between the dimensions of perfectionism and fear of making mistakes (where processes such as self-devaluation and fear of failing the people that participants deemed as important to them are intertwined). The perception of satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, social relationships, and competence emerges as protective factors that mediate the perfectionism-fear of failure relationship. On the other hand, discrepancies are shown between the perfectionist dimensions concerning the relationships with the BPNs, describing certain sources of vulnerability, although there are adjustments of mental effort and discomfort in the young athletes. The conclusions offer the opportunity to investigate the aspects that facilitate the emergence of fear of failure in young athletes, mainly the performance of coaches connected to the emergence of patterns in pursuit of perfection.

Health hazards in sports: Exploring the influence of despotic leadership and perceived organizational politics on well-being

In recent years, the concept of despotic leadership has garnered considerable attention in sports. Despotic leadership significantly reflecting leaders' deviant behavior has today heightened the risk of health hazards in the workplace. In addition, the perceived organizational politics have also yielded a deleterious result on employees' well-being. In the dynamic landscape of healthcare, understanding the implications of organizational behavior on well-being is paramount for risk management. This study elucidates the relationships between despotic leadership, perceived organizational politics, workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion, person-organization unfit, and health harm, which can pose significant risks in a healthcare setting. The quantitative study was conducted using an empirical survey with respondents representing sports organizations. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data from 429 participants using Smart PLS. The study findings suggest that despotic leadership and perceived organizational politics can lead to increased risks, manifested as workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion, and person-organization unfit. These organizational risks subsequently translate to tangible health harm for employees. Mediation analyses revealed that workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion, and person-organization unfit mediate the detrimental health outcomes rooted in leadership and organizational politics. The study underscores the urgent need for risk management strategies to foster a healthier organizational culture and leadership approach in healthcare settings. This will ensure enhanced employee well-being and a reduction in associated health risks, thus aligning with best practices in healthcare policy.

Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire in Sport: Psychometric Analysis With Romanian Professional Athletes

Building upon self-determination theory, our objective in this research was to adapt and analyze psychometrically the Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire (IBQ) in sport. Our participants were 642 professional athletes (55.14% men, M_age = 22.81) who completed an online survey measuring their perception of coaching behaviors, need satisfaction, need frustration, and motivation. The results showed a good fit for the 24-item IBQ with a six-factor correlated model (χ²/df = 4.178; CFI = .925; TLI = .912; SRMR = .048; RMSEA = .070), and we obtained evidence supporting its convergent and discriminant validity. The analyses also underpinned measurement invariance across gender, age, and sport, and confirmed good reliability. Criterion validity was met by positive associations of autonomy-supportive, competence-supportive, and relatedness-supportive behaviors with need satisfaction and autonomous motivation; and of autonomy-thwarting, competence-thwarting and relatedness-thwarting behaviors with need frustration, controlled motivation and amotivation. The adapted IBQ can be applied to the assessment of professional Romanian athletes' perceptions of need-supportive and need-thwarting coaching behaviors.

Longitudinal Associations Between Athletes' Psychological Needs and Burnout Across a Competitive Season: A Latent Difference Score Analysis

Participation in sport can paradoxically be a source of psychological needs satisfaction and psychological needs frustration. Self-determination theory was applied to explain temporal relationships of athletes' psychological needs satisfactions and psychological needs frustrations with burnout through a two-wave longitudinal study. Participants included 184 athletes (Mage = 24.04 years, SD = 5.56, 67.9% male) representing a range of competitive levels. A latent difference score model specifying longitudinal relationships between burnout and needs satisfactions and needs frustrations was tested. Significant within-variable changes were observed for all needs-satisfaction and needs-frustration variables. Longitudinal associations were found in Models 3 (autonomy frustration) and 6 (relatedness satisfaction). Higher burnout at baseline predicted an increase in autonomy frustration (β = 0.13, p < .05), whereas higher relatedness satisfaction at baseline reduced burnout levels later in the season (β = -0.22, p < .001). To conclude, continuous tracking of athlete burnout levels and fostering of needs-supportive climates that minimize autonomy-controlling behaviors are recommended for the burnout prevention in athletes.