Coaches' Impact on Youth Athletes' Intentions to Continue Sport Participation: The Mediational Influence of the Coach-Athlete Relationship

Poster presented at the Southeast Regional Conference of the American Association of Sport Psychology

Approximately 60 million youth participate in sports each year, however about 70% of these youth athletes drop out of sport by age 13 despite the numerous positive benefits of sport participation (National Alliance for Youth Sports, 2016; National Council for Youth Sports, 2008). Self-determination theory has been utilized to investigate athletes’ motivations (Rocchi, Pelletier, & Desmarais, 2016; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Specifically, interpersonal coaching behaviors that satisfy these basic psychological needs have been shown to impact sport persistence (Curran, Hill, Hall, & Jowett, 2014; Curran, Hill, Ntoumanis, Hall, & Jowett, 2016). The coach-athlete relationship has also been found to be related to sport persistence (Gardner, Magee, & Vella, 2016; Rottensteiner, Konttinen, & Laakso, 2015). The quality of the coach-athlete relationship and interpersonal coaching behaviors that emphasize the satisfaction of basic needs have been found to be positively associated with one another (Felton & Jowett, 2013; Jowett, et al., 2017; Riley & Smith, 2011). The relationships between interpersonal coaching behaviors, the coach-athlete relationship, and intentions to continue sport participation have been examined independently, however, these variables have not been examined collectively. This study investigates if the quality of the coach-athlete relationship mediates the relationship between interpersonal coaching behaviors and intentions to continue sport participation. Participants will complete a series of questionnaires to explore the relationships between coach interpersonal behaviors, the coach-athlete relationship, and intentions to continue sport participation. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations will be calculated, and significant relationships (α < .05) will be included in mediation analyses. It is hypothesized that perceptions of the quality of the coach-athlete relationship will mediate the relationship between supportive coach interpersonal behaviors and intentions to continue sport participation in youth athletes. Further, perceptions of the quality of the coach-athlete relationship will mediate the relationship between thwarting coach interpersonal behaviors and intentions to continue sport participation.