Abstract
Peers can contribute to adaptive and maladaptive motivational outcomes in youth sport (Smith, 2007; Weiss & Stuntz, 2004). One way this may occur is through the reinforcement of goal structures and expectations that frame perspectives on sport success (Ntoumanis, Vazou, & Duda, 2007). Referred to as peer-created motivational climate, perspectives that are task-involving (improvement, relatedness support, and effort emphasis) and ego-involving (intrateam competition/ability and intrateam conflict emphasis) can be emphasized. In light of the importance of peers during adolescence and the need for empirical work on peer-created motivational climate, the purpose of this study was to examine peer-created motivational climate perceptions as predictors of important motivational outcomes in adolescent soccer players. Participants (N = 96; M age = 15.3 years, SD = 1.2) completed established questionnaires assessing demographic variables, perceptions of the peer-created motivational climate, and adaptive and maladaptive motivational sport outcomes (i.e., enjoyment, commitment, burnout, and anxiety). Multivariate multiple regression analysis demonstrated a significant moderate association (Rc = .47) between the variable sets, p < .05. Hours of soccer per week, a control variable, and all peer climate dimensions except intrateam competition/ability (excluded because unreliably measured) contributed meaningfully and in expected directions to the multivariate relationship, as did all motivational outcome variables. Variance explained in the motivational outcome variables was 13.3%. The findings suggest that peers may both foster and undermine motivation of adolescent athletes through the climate they reinforce. Intensified research on the peer-created motivational climate holds potential to enhance understanding of the youth sport experience.
