How Coaches' Motivations Mediate Between Basic Psychological Needs and Well-Being/Ill-Being

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 86; no. 3; pp. 292 - 302
• Main Authors: Alcaraz, Saul, Torregrosa, Miquel, Viladrich, Carme
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 01.01.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Achievement Need; Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Athletic Coaches; Behavior; Behavior Rating Scales; behavioral regulations; Burnout; Correlation; Cross-Sectional Studies; Employment - psychology; Exercise Physiology; Factor Analysis; Female; Foreign Countries; Humans; Inhibition; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Measurement Techniques; Mediation; mediation model; Mediation Theory; Middle Aged; Motivation; Motivation Techniques; Need Gratification; Personal Autonomy; Personal Satisfaction; Physical Education; Physical education teachers; Predictive Measurement; Predictive Validity; Predictor Variables; Psychological Needs; Psychometrics; Questionnaires; Regulation; Resistance (Psychology); Self Management; Spain; Sport Psychology; Sports - psychology; Statistical Analysis; statistical measurement; Stress, Psychological; structural equation model; Structural Equation Models; Team Sports; Well Being; Young Adult; Spain; statistical measurement; behavioral regulations; mediation model; structural equation model
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2015.1049691

Purpose: The purpose of the present research was to test how behavioral regulations are mediated between basic psychological needs and psychological well-being and ill-being in a sample of team-sport coaches. Based on self-determination theory, we hypothesized a model where satisfaction and thwarting of the basic psychological needs predicted coaches' behavioral regulations, which in turn led them to experience well-being (i.e., subjective vitality, positive affect) or ill-being (i.e., perceived stress, negative affect). Method: Three-hundred and two coaches participated in the study (M age  = 25.97 years; 82% male). For each instrument employed, the measurement model with the best psychometric properties was selected from a sequence of nested models sustained by previous research, including exploratory structural equation models and confirmatory factor analysis. These measurement models were included in 3 structural equation models to test for mediation: partial mediation, complete mediation, and absence of mediation. Results: The results provided support for the partial mediation model. Coaches' motivation mediated the relationships from both relatedness need satisfaction and basic psychological needs thwarting for coaches' well-being. In contrast, relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction and thwarting and ill-being were only predicted by direct effects. Conclusion: Our results highlight that 3 conditions seem necessary for coaches to experience psychological well-being in their teams: basic psychological needs satisfaction, especially relatedness; lack of basic psychological needs thwarting; and self-determined motivation.