The intersection of coach- and parent-initiated motivational climates toward cohesion in youth sport

Résumé

Social agents are instrumental in the development of a team’s motivational climate (Keegan et al., 2014). Coaches can initiate performance and/or mastery climates in youth sport, which have subsequent effects on cohesion (Eys et al., 2013). Parents also create climates that impact athlete perceptions (e.g., perfectionism; Appleton et al., 2011). Notably, coach and parent initiated motivational climates do not occur in isolation from one another. As such, the current project examined the intersection of coach- and parent-initiated motivational climates relative to athlete perceptions of cohesion in youth sport. Athletes (N = 96; 37 girls; M_age = 15.17 ± 1.59) on 10 interdependent sport teams (e.g., basketball) completed surveys assessing parent- and coach-initiated motivational climates and cohesion during their season. Cluster analyses (hierarchical and K-cluster procedures) were used to identify 5 distinct motivational climate profiles representing various combinations of parent and coach-initiated motivational climates. Via MANOVA, we identified that the clusters broadly differed in perceptions of task and social cohesion, Λ = .78, F_(8,172) = 2.87, p < .01, η;p² = .12. The cluster of participants who perceived high coach and parent mastery climates yielded the strongest perceptions of cohesion, while participants in clusters who perceived high coach performance climate (without equivalent mastery climate perceptions from either source) resulted in the lowest perceptions of cohesion. This study provides insight into the interactive effects of coach and parent influence in the youth sport environment and its implications for an emergent state critical for teammate relationships and team success.