Effects of parental support and coach-initiated motivational climate on young athletes’ psychosocial behaviors and well-being

Abstract

This study examined the effect of coach-initiated motivational climate and parental support on intrinsic motivation, enjoyment of sport participation, subjective vitality, sport-related violence, and academic achievement of youth soccer players. The second purpose was to examine if intrinsic motivation mediates the impact of coach-initiated climate and parental support on the above endogenous variables. Two measurements Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) were conducted. In T1, 494 young soccer male athletes completed surveys of coach-created motivational climate, parental praise and understanding, intrinsic motivation, sport-related violence, vitality, sport enjoyment and Grade Point Average (GPA). After five months, 188 of those soccer athletes responded again to the same surveys (T2). In both measurements the findings suggest that perceived coach-initiated empowering climate and parental praise and understanding have indirect effects on sport-related violence, GPA, vitality and sport enjoyment through intrinsic motivation in sport.