Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality characteristic comprised of two higher-order factors termed perfectionistic strivings (PS) and perfectionistic concerns (PC). Research has typically found perfectionistic strivings to be related to better sport performance, while concerns are usually unrelated. However, many of the tests of this relationship use non-athletes, contrived tasks, and one-off performances, and have also focused on the separate, rather than interactive, effects of PS and PC. The present study was designed to address these limitations by testing the interactive effect of indicators of PS and PC in predicting performance across two rounds of competitive golf. Eighty-nine male golf athletes (Mage = 28.42 years, SD = 11.87) completed measures of perfectionism and then competed in a regional golf competition. Their cumulative score, relative to par, across two rounds determined their performance. Hierarchical linear modelling, nesting performances within individuals, holes, and rounds, showed a significant three-way interaction between self-oriented performance perfectionism (indicator of PS), socially prescribed performance perfectionism (indicator of PC), and round (b = 0.36, SE = 0.17, p = .039). At low levels of socially prescribed performance perfectionism, self-oriented performance perfectionism predicted improved performance; however, at high levels of socially prescribed performance perfectionism, self-oriented performance perfectionism predicted poorer performance. Findings highlight the importance of assessing the relationship between perfectionism and sport performance in real-world competitive contexts over time, while accounting for the interplay between indicators of PS and PC.

Individuals who focus on self-referenced improvement and effort exhibit greater intrinsic motivation to participate in sport, physical activity, and movement as well as greater retention of learned motor skills. Additionally, participation in settings prioritizing mastery over performance outcomes is associated with better performance and higher intrinsic motivation. The purpose of the current study was to examine the main and interactive effects of the motivational climate and goal orientations on both linear and nonlinear aspects of motor performance. Participants performed a finger force-matching task with a target line on a computer screen. Results showed that a performance climate was more beneficial for improving mean absolute error during adaptation, whereas motivational climate interacted with task orientation to influence mean absolute error retention. For nonlinear outcomes, higher task and ego orientations were associated with greater sample entropy during adaptation, reflecting exploratory motor behavior. Motivational climate further interacted with goal orientations to affect sample entropy retention, with task-oriented individuals showing increased sample entropy in performance climates. These findings highlight how motivational contexts and individual goal orientations jointly shape motor learning processes, emphasizing their differential effects on linear and nonlinear performance metrics in a controlled laboratory setting

Background: The public often places value on youth sport involvement in the United States due to its potential to foster positive outcomes for participants. Although sport parents are key socializers and provide access to appropriate participation opportunities for children, less is known about how their perceptions of their child’s motives influence their sport commitments. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to understand how parents’ perceptions of their child’s motives for sport participation were associated with time/travel sport commitments. Methods: Participants (N = 1250) were parents in the United States reporting on their child’s youth sport participation. Measures assessed their perceptions of their child’s motives for sport involvement, how many hours per week and months per year they engaged in sport, and how far they tended to drive to facilitate sport opportunities. Multiple regressions were utilized. Results: Analyses revealed that the number of months per year was positively predicted by motives for being physically healthy and spending time with friends. Similarly, being with friends was a positive predictor of the number of weekly hours spent in organized sport and having fun positively predicted the distance driven to participate. Motives for becoming more physically attractive negatively predicted time and travel commitments. Conclusions: Overall, the present study sheds light on how the ways parents perceive their children’s motivations for participating in youth sport influences parents’ commitment to facilitating sport participation opportunities for their children.

Physical activity is well-established as beneficial for children’s physical and mental health, yet limited research has explored how different activity types impact psychosocial outcomes. This is a cross-sectional study that examined associations between youth participation in organized sport, unstructured physical activity, and land-use recreation and their psychosocial health. Survey data were collected from 3246 caregivers of children in the Intermountain West region of the United States. Respondents reported on children’s physical activity engagement and psychosocial outcomes, including mental health, emotional control, and social well-being. All three activity types were significantly associated with improved psychosocial health (p < 0.001). Compared to organized sport, unstructured physical activity and land-use recreation were associated with significantly higher levels of mental health and emotional control (padj < 0.001), although with a small effect size (η2 < 0.006). No significant differences were observed in social well-being across activity types (p = 0.2928). When controlling for gender and community type, distinct psychosocial benefits emerged between activity types. These findings suggest that, while all forms of physical activity support psychosocial development, unstructured and nature-based activities may offer particular advantages. Findings highlight the importance of promoting diverse forms of physical activity and considering individual and contextual factors in maximizing their psychosocial benefits.

Objective Parents need to cooperate with professional organizations to support their children’s development and health. In sports, knowledge on how parents, coaches, and organizations can successfully coordinate their behavior and work together for a common cause is lacking. This study was designed to identify a grounded theory of cooperation as a social process between parents and organizational stakeholders in youth soccer academies. Design and method Intensive interviews were conducted with parents (n = 9), coaches (n = 11), and administrators (n = 14) across 14 youth soccer academies in Germany. Data were analyzed using initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical integration following constructivist grounded theory methodology. Results and conclusion The grounded theory produced comprises several processes aimed at building, maintaining, and reinforcing effective cooperation between parents, coaches, and administrators. Acknowledging parents as part of the academy, providing a thorough onboarding, and defining parental roles are essential for cooperation to evolve. Cooperation was viewed as a responsive, dynamic, and iterative process impacted by person and context factors. Findings are interpreted through a systems lens highlighting nuanced dependencies between cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns. The grounded theory provides implications for future research targeting the intersection of persons and contexts in youth sport. For practitioners, we propose an evidence-based program on developing cooperation.

Numerous empirical efforts have sought to understand the emotional abuse experiences of female athletes, but less is known about how emotional abuse is experienced by males in sport. To address this gap, the present study was designed to explore how four male former NCAA student-athletes ( Mage = 32 years) experienced emotionally abusive coaching behaviors and how those behaviors were influenced by masculine socialization pressures. A multiple case study design and inductive-deductive thematic approach were utilized to collect and analyze retrospective data. Results highlight socialization pressures related to orthodox masculinity influenced participant experiences and recollections of emotional abuse.

Although contemporary researchers suggest that abuse is especially prevalent in sport, athletes' experiences of coaches' emotional abuse are not well understood. To address this gap, the present study was designed to examine how former intercollegiate student-athletes described experiences of emotional abuse in the coach-athlete relationship. Twenty former student-athletes were interviewed, and an inductive comparative analysis was utilized to interpret and situate the data. Results were framed in terms of power and were organized into four distinctive categories. Results highlight a critical need for institutions to reflect on current policies and practices regarding the prevention and investigation of athlete abuse.

Perfectionistic reactivity is a characteristic style of responding to adversity that elicits a bio-psychosocial response. Those with elevated levels of perfectionistic tendencies are thought to react disproportionately in the face of successes or failures. The present two-study paper was designed to understand the role of perfectionism in predicting season-long performance in collegiate golf while also gaining insight into NCAA student-athletes' lived experiences of perfectionism and reactivity. In Study 1, self-report measures of perfectionism were collected from 46 NCAA golf student-athletes. Tournament scores were then recorded over the NCAA's 12-week competitive season. Data were examined using a two-level hierarchical linear model to test the moderating effect of perfectionism on student-athlete hole-over-hole performance across an entire season. In Study 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six student-athletes from the Study 1 sample who had self-reported high levels of perfectionistic strivings and concerns. Data were examined utilizing reflexive thematic analysis. Collectively, findings suggest that there is still work to be done to wholly understand the influence of perfectionism on sporting performance. However, athletes revealed during interviews that they experience perfectionistic reactivity through a multitude of biopsychosocial dimensions related to affect, behaviour, and cognition. Findings will allow future scholars to examine different measures of perfectionism across different performance intervals while considering the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of perfectionistic reactivity. Furthermore, future research could be designed to understand the specific circumstances under which specific thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are experienced in relation to perfectionistic reactivity.

Many normalized coaching behaviors are often abusive yet are seen by coaches and athletes as instrumental in achievement and competition. The current study was designed to extend past research and theory by subjectively exploring how and why former intercollegiate athletes identified their head coach as emotionally abusive. Twenty former intercollegiate student-athletes (Mage = 26.0 years) from nine sports participated in semi-structured interviews ranging from 65 to 189 min (M = 105.8, SD = 58). Interpretive description methodology was used with reflexive thematic analysis to generate a coherent conceptual description of the themes and shared experiences that characterized emotionally abusive coaching. The themes that associated with an athlete labeling a coach as emotionally abusive fall under two aspects of Stirling and Kerr's 2008 definition: non-contact coach behaviors and the resulting harmful outcomes experienced by the athletes. Non-contact behaviors were ones that diminished performance, neglected holistic development, and were inconsistent. The harmful effects were the negative emotional responses and dehumanization experienced by athletes. Finally, participants felt that a coach's desire for power and control over athletes explained the coach's behaviors generally. Based on these results, we put forth the conceptual claim that emotional abuse, and psychological violence more broadly, cannot be defined or identified based solely on the perpetrator's behaviors. The athlete's cognitions, perceptions, emotions, and behaviors are critical in determining whether emotional abuse occurred, and these interpretations are shaped by an athlete's existing relationship with the coach.

A positive relationship with parents contributes to well-being during emerging adulthood, the developmental period that bridges adolescence and adulthood (Arnett, J. J. [2015]. Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties [2nd ed.]. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199795574.013.9). In this study, we investigated discrepancies between parent and emerging adult perceptions of relationship qualities within the context of intercollegiate sport. Parent and student-athlete reports of parental contact, parental support, academic engagement, and basic need satisfaction were compared to determine whether agreement existed. Results examining 50 parent/student-athlete dyads from a Division I institution completed online measures of relationship qualities. Results revealed minimal agreement across all measures (kappa = -.10 to .12). Parents reported significantly higher levels of basic need satisfaction and academic engagement while student-athletes reported significantly higher levels of tangible parental support, providing evidence of the importance of the choice of informant when assessing parent/student-athlete relationships. These findings build a foundation for future work on how reporter differences are linked to student-athlete outcomes.

Despite widespread anecdotal accounts of coaches' emotional abuse in intercollegiate sports, empirical literature is lacking. To address this gap, the present exploratory study was designed to explore how former intercollegiate student-athletes interpreted experiences of emotionally abusive coaching. Former female NCAA and NJCAA student-athletes (N = 14; Mage = 25.3 years) took part in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Data were interpreted using a constructivist grounded theory approach. The final product of the research was a three-stage grounded theory explaining how former student-athletes interpret their experiences of emotional abuse over time organized into sections on antecedents to abuse, experiences and actions within the abusive program, and after the abuse. Implications for this work include the idea that individual student-athletes may have different experiences and recollections of coaches' emotionally abusive behavior and that intercollegiate student-athletes are able to discern between "hard, but fair" coaching practices and emotionally abusive coaching practices.