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On understanding the role of need thwarting in the association between athlete attachment and well/ill‐being
Author(s) -
Felton L.,
Jowett S.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12196
Subject(s) - psychology , self determination theory , competence (human resources) , athletes , autonomy , perception , affect (linguistics) , life satisfaction , context (archaeology) , mediation , clinical psychology , attachment theory , social psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , paleontology , communication , neuroscience , political science , law , biology , physical therapy
Grounded in attachment theory and basic psychological needs theory, the current study aimed to examine the mediating role of basic psychological need thwarting between perceptions of athlete attachment to the coach and indexes of athlete well/ill‐being. A sample of athletes ( N = 241) participating in various organized sports completed a multisection questionnaire assessing the main study variables. Bootstrap mediation analysis revealed that the perceived psychological needs of thwarted autonomy and competence within the coach relational context mediated the associations between athletes' perceptions of insecure attachments to the coach and experiences of life satisfaction and negative affect. Analysis also revealed that the perceived psychological needs of thwarted competence and relatedness within the sport context mediated the associations between athletes' attachment style and experiences of performance satisfaction, life satisfaction, depression, and negative affect. Overall, the findings of the study highlight that the examination of negative aspects of sport participation may facilitate a more complete understanding of athletes' psychological functioning.