Team Efficacy Profiles: Congruence Predicts Objective Performance of Athlete Pairs

Efficacy beliefs targeting personal (self-efficacy), teammates' (other-efficacy), and conjoint (collective efficacy) abilities are each associated with performance of athlete pairs. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) congruence/incongruence of efficacy beliefs between athletes in a pair as a predictor of quality of individual and team performance and (b) quality of performance relative to efficacy congruence at high, moderate, and low levels of efficacy. Eighty-two cheerleading pairs, composed of one base and one flyer, completed questionnaires assessing self-, other, and collective efficacy prior to a national collegiate competition. Individual and team performances were assessed using objective criteria. Polynomial regression analyses indicated that team performance was predicted by congruence of (a) both athletes' collective efficacy beliefs and (b) base self-efficacy and flyer other efficacy. Findings supported that congruence at moderate to high levels of efficacy was associated with better performance relative to incongruent efficacy beliefs across the two athletes.

Association of parent, coach, and peer motivational climate with high school athlete burnout and engagement: Comparing mediation and moderation models

The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the direct association of parent-, coach-, and peer-initiated motivational climate with high school athlete burnout and engagement and (2) evaluate whether peer-initiated motivational climate mediates or moderates the association of coach-initiated motivational climate with burnout and engagement. Athletes (n = 150) completed a survey on their perceptions of parent-, coach-, and peer-initiated motivational climate, burnout, and engagement. Findings supported the mediation model, but not the moderation model. In addition to mastery and performance climate direct effects, significant medium-to-large indirect pathways from coach mastery climate → peer mastery climate → burnout, β = -.15, 95% CI [-.333, -.009], and coach mastery climate → peer mastery climate → engagement, β = .19, 95% CI [.020, .293] were observed. Findings support that a parent, coach, and peer-initiated mastery motivational climate was associated with burnout and engagement while a performance climate was mostly unrelated to these indices of athlete well-being. In addition to direct associations with burnout and engagement, coaches also had an indirect association through peer mastery-initiated motivational climate. Findings advance understanding of how parents, coaches, and peers conjointly shape athlete burnout and engagement.

Parent Motivational Climate, Sport Enrollment Motives, and Young Athlete Commitment and Enjoyment in Year-Round Swimming

Parents are known to influence the athlete sport experience through motivational climates. Athletes' perception of motivational climates and their own motives for sport participation influence enjoyment and long-term sport commitment. It is unknown, however, the extent parent motives for initially enrolling their child in a year-round sports program associate with children's sport participation enjoyment and commitment. The purposes of this study were to (a) determine parent motives for enrolling their child (5-8 years) in year-round swimming and (b) explore the relationships of parent motives and motivational climates with child enjoyment and commitment. Parents (n = 40) completed questionnaires on enrollment motives and motivational climate, while children (n = 40) answered questions on enjoyment and commitment. Of the seven motives measured, parents enrolled children in swimming primarily for fitness benefits (M = 4.5, SD = .45) followed by skill mastery (M = 4.31, SD = .48) and fun (M = 4.10, SD = .51) reasons. Findings revealed the fitness motive was moderately, negatively correlated with the success-without-effort facet of a performance climate (r = -.50, p < .01). The fun motive was moderately, positively associated with commitment (r = .43, p < .01). Parent motives for enrolling their child in sport may impact the young child sport experience and long-term sport continuation via motivational climates, enjoyment, and commitment.

Transformational parenting and coaching on mental toughness and physical performance in adolescent soccer players: The moderating effect of athlete age

Both parent and coach leadership behaviours are instrumental to adolescent athlete development. Researchers, however, are yet to examine parent and coach leadership influences simultaneously, and at different stages of adolescents' psychological and physical development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand if the effects of transformational parenting, and transformational coaching on mental toughness and performance varied at different ages during adolescence. Early adolescent (ages 10-14) and late adolescent (ages 15-18) soccer players (n = 334) completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of their mother's, father's, and coach's transformational leadership, as well as a questionnaire assessing mental toughness. Participants also completed a comprehensive battery of physical fitness tests relevant to soccer. Results indicated that transformational fathering was more strongly associated with levels of mental toughness for early adolescent athletes than it was for later adolescent athletes. Results also indicated that transformational coaching was more strongly associated with physical performance for later adolescent athletes than it was for early adolescents. Overall, these results can inform development models and provide support for future longitudinal studies to assess the impact of parent and coach transformational leadership across different stages of athlete development.

Reciprocal Relationships Between Efficacy and Performance in Athlete Dyads: Self-, Other-, and Collective Constructs

This study's purpose was to evaluate the unique contributions of self-, other-, and collective constructs in the efficacy-performance reciprocal relationship for athlete dyads involving low- and high-dependence roles. Data were obtained from 74 intact cheerleading pairs on self-, other-, and collective efficacy and subjective performance evaluations for each of 5 successive trials. Objective assessments of dyad performances were obtained from digital recordings. Across path models involving a single efficacy construct, similar reciprocal relationships between objective dyad performance and self-, other-, or collective efficacy were observed. In path models composed of multiple efficacy or performance constructs, unique efficacy contributions were observed in the prediction of objective dyad performance, and unique subjective performance contributions were observed in the prediction of efficacy beliefs. Partner effects were observed more often for athletes in the high-dependence role than for those in the low-dependence role. Findings support how self-, other-, and collective beliefs are processed by team athletes.

It Depends on the Partner: Person-Related Sources of Efficacy Beliefs and Performance for Athlete Pairs

This study explored person-related sources of variance in athletes' efficacy beliefs and performances when performing in pairs with distinguishable roles differing in partner dependence. College cheerleaders (n = 102) performed their role in repeated performance trials of two low- and two high-difficulty paired-stunt tasks with three different partners. Data were obtained on self-, other-, and collective efficacy beliefs and subjective performances, and objective performance assessments were obtained from digital recordings. Using the social relations model framework, total variance in each belief/assessment was partitioned, for each role, into numerical components of person-related variance relative to the self, the other, and the collective. Variance component by performance role by task-difficulty repeated-measures analysis of variances revealed that the largest person-related variance component differed by athlete role and increased in size in high-difficulty tasks. Results suggest that the extent the athlete's performance depends on a partner relates to the extent the partner is a source of self-, other-, and collective efficacy beliefs.

Controlling Coaching Behaviors and Athlete Burnout: Investigating the Mediating Roles of Perfectionism and Motivation

This investigation sought to replicate and extend earlier studies of athlete burnout by examining athlete-perceived controlling coaching behaviors and athlete perfectionism variables as, respectively, environmental and dispositional antecedents of athlete motivation and burnout. Data obtained from NCAA Division I swimmers (n = 487) within 3 weeks of conference championship meets were analyzed for this report. Significant indirect effects were observed between controlling coaching behaviors and burnout through athlete perfectionism (i.e., socially prescribed, self-oriented) and motivation (i.e., autonomous, amotivation). Controlling coaching behaviors predicted athlete perfectionism. In turn, self-oriented perfectionism was positively associated with autonomous motivation and negatively associated with amotivation, while socially prescribed perfectionism was negatively associated with autonomous motivation and positively associated with controlled motivation and amotivation. Autonomous motivation and amotivation, in turn, predicted athlete burnout in expected directions. These findings implicate controlling coaching behaviors as potentially contributing to athlete perfectionism, shaping athlete motivational regulations, and possibly increasing athlete burnout.