Résumé
A large body of research has examined the importance of cohesion with regard to many correlates such as performance, satisfaction, collective efficacy, and adherence, to name a few (see Carron & Eys, 2012). Conflict, frequently perceived as the opposite of cohesion, has also started to receive research attention in the sport literature (e.g., Holt et al., 2012; Mellalieu et al., 2013). While one previous study (Sullivan & Feltz, 2001) has assessed the relationship between conflict and cohesion— the recent development of a conceptually driven, structurally valid questionnaire (Group Conflict Questionnaire, GCQ; Paradis et al., 2013) allows us to re-examine this potentially impactful relationship. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was (a) to assess nuances of this relationship in comparison to the results obtained by Sullivan and Feltz (2001) and (b) to determine the convergent validity of the GCQ. A total of 437 athletes completed the GCQ and the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron et al., 1985). SEM results revealed task conflict to be significantly negatively related to all four dimensions of cohesion (Attraction to Group-Task: -.43, Attraction to Group-Social: -.18, Group Integration-Task: -.34, Group Integration-Social: -.28), while social conflict was not significantly related to any of the four dimensions (ATG-T: .12, ATG-S: -.08, GI-T: -.03, GI-S: .07). In addition, analysis revealed good model fit for the data (CFI = .91, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .05). Implications with regard to this relationship and the convergent validity of the GCQ are discussed.
