Abstract
Sport team cohesion has been associated with a number of positive adherence behaviours (e.g., attendance and punctuality; Carron et al., 1988, Study 2). However, considering contextual factors concomitant with this relationship may be important (cf. Ulvick et al., 2011). Although different dimensions of cohesion have emerged between elite and recreational adult athletes (Brawley et al., 1988, study 2), this finding has not been extended to youth. To examine the cohesion-adherence relationship across two different youth sport contexts (competitive and recreational), 132 players were recruited from 10 outdoor soccer teams. Approximately 2-3 weeks into their season, players completed measures of team cohesion (YSEQ; Eys et al., 2009) and individual effort as a form of adherence (Spink & Odnokon, 2000). Regression analyses were conducted for the competitive and recreational players separately. While both the competitive, F (2, 66) = 17.26, p < .001, R2 = .34, and recreational, F (2, 60) = 3.70, p = .03, R2 = .11, models were significant, different cohesion dimensions predicted effort. For those on competitive teams, task and social cohesion were related to effort (both p’s < .01), whereas only social cohesion was related to effort for recreational players (p < .05). These results suggest that, while cohesion may be related to how hard players work, this relationship appears to differ across levels of competitive play. One possible explanation for this difference may involve the varying participation motives of each group (Klint & Weiss, 1986). Future research investigating motives in relation to cohesion could be fruitful.Acknowledgments: This research was supported by a SSHRC Doctoral Canada Graduate Scholarship and SSHRC/Sport Canada Sport Participation Research Initiative grant to the first author.