Player perceptions of team environment: Examining the relationship between psychological climate and intention to return

Abstract

Whether an individual chooses to engage in a situation is thought to be a function of how it is perceived and interpreted (Kahn, 1990). If the situation is perceived to be psychologically safe and meaningful (i.e., positive psychological climate), then personal engagement is predicted. As psychological climate (PC) has been associated with the intention of individuals to stay with a group (Langkamer & Ervin, 2008), our study examined this relationship in regard to the intention of hockey players to return to their team in the following season (N=148; 10 teams). It was predicted that higher PC perceptions would be associated with greater intention to return. PC was assessed using a modified multidimensional Psychological Climate Questionnaire (Brown & Leigh, 1996) and a 3-item intention to return measure. After controlling for players nested within teams (ICC=.05), the results from a multilevel model revealed that intention to return the next season was predicted by the four subscales of PC. Overall, this model explained 15% of the variance in intention to return, with most variance (12%) occurring at the player level. Two PC subscales significantly predicted intention to return – role-clarity (b = .25, p < .001) and self-expression (b = .08, p < .05). These results are consistent with findings in other areas that role clarity (Kahn, 1990) and an environment that encourages self-expression (James, 2008) are related to a climate that sustains personal engagement.