Parental behavior, cognitive appraisal, and motivation in young athletes

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport 2019-01, Vol.90 (1), p.80-94
• Main Authors: Gomes, A. Rui, Gonçalves, A. Manuela, Dias, Olga Alexandra Coelho Lopes, Morais, Catarina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Athletes; Athletes - psychology; Athletics; Case Studies; Child; Ciências Sociais; Cognition; Cognitive Processes; Competition; Competitive Behavior; Correlation; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fathers; Fathers - psychology; Female; Foreign Countries; Goal Orientation; Goals; Humans; Male; Measures (Individuals); Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Motivation; Parent Child Relationship; Parental pressure; Primary appraisal; Psicologia; Science & Technology; Social Sciences; Social Support; Structural Equation Models; Team Sports; Young Adult; Youth sports
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2018.1563278

This study tested two hypotheses relating young athletes’ sports motivations to parental behaviors and cognitive appraisal: (1) young athletes’ motivation in sports is related to their parents’ behavior; and (2) this relationship is mediated by cognitive appraisal, even after controlling for competitive level and sports records. Method: This cross-sectional study included 673 young athletes and it measured the athletes’ perceptions of parental behaviors, cognitive appraisal, and sports motivation. Results: Structural equation modeling confirmed Hypothesis 1 -- the mother’s behaviors accounted for 15 to 16% of the variance in sports motivation, and the father’s behaviors accounted for 12 to 21% of the variance. The correlation patterns differed according to whether the athletes were evaluating the mother’s or father’s behaviors. Hypothesis 2 also was confirmed, for cognitive appraisal partially mediated the relationship between the perception of parental behaviors and sports motivation (34% of the variance was accounted for by the perception of the mother’s behavior; 30% by the father’s). The mediating model did not vary with competitive level or sports records. Conclusion: Parental behaviors and cognitive appraisal need to be taken into account to understand young athletes’ sports motivations. Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho COMPETE2020. PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653) Project UID/MAT/00013/2013 Guimarães, European City of Sport 2013