Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov:69:102478.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102478. Epub 2023 Jun 29.

Predictors and outcomes of sports coaches' athlete-invested contingent self-worth

Sofie Morbée  1 , Leen Haerens  2 , Bart Soenens  3 , Tom Loeys  4 , Tom De Clerck  2 , Joachim Waterschoot  3 , Maarten Vansteenkiste  3
Affiliations

Predictors and outcomes of sports coaches' athlete-invested contingent self-worth

Sofie Morbée et al. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Some sports coaches not only invest considerable time and energy in their athletes, but also attach their self-worth to the successes and failures of their athletes. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present study aimed to examine the theoretical predictors and outcomes of such Athlete-Invested Contingent Self-worth (AICS). Results from a cross-sectional study (Study 1; N = 740, Mage = 34.37 years) and an experimental vignette-based study among youth sports coaches (Study 2; N = 318, Mage = 38.94 years) indicated that AICS was positively related to a controlling coaching style and negatively related to a structuring style. Study 1 showed that a perceived evaluative club board was positively related to AICS, and Study 2 further demonstrated that poor performance was negatively associated with AICS and that an evaluative climate was related to AICS through experiences of need frustration. The discussion focuses on the pitfalls of coaches' contingent self-worth for the development of their athletes.

Keywords: Athlete performance; Coaching style; Evaluative climate; Multi-study approach; Self-determination theory; Vignette design.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest Given their role as an Editorial Board Member, Haerens L., had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and had no access to information regarding its peer-review. All other authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Publication types