The Relationship Between Perceived Coaching Style and Athlete Well-Being
Open Access
- Author:
- Manoff, Peri
- Area of Honors:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Rina Das Eiden, Thesis Supervisor
Kenneth N. Levy, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- student-athlete
coaching style
perfectionism
well-being - Abstract:
- Previous research has explored the influence of coaching style on athletes’ well-being including mental health outcomes such as anxiety and burnout. Using a cross-sectional design, we further examined the relationship between coaching style and athlete well-being, and the role of perfectionism (fear of failure, self-oriented, and socially prescribed) as a mediator of this association. Student-athletes (N = 49) at the Pennsylvania State University 18-26-years-old reported their time spent with their coach (the one they work most closely with, i.e., head coach, assistant coach, position coach, etc.), the coaching style of that coach, the athlete’s feelings of perfectionism and fear of failure, and the athlete’s well-being. I hypothesized that 1) athletes’ perception of coaching style as more controlling would be associated with lower reports of well-being; 2) perfectionism would mediate the relationship between the athlete’s perception of their coach’s style and their well-being, such that controlling coaching style would be associated with higher perfectionism among athletes, which in turn would be associated with lower psychological well-being. Multiple regression indicated that a controlling coaching style was not associated with well-being or with perfectionism. However, higher fear of failure among athletes was strongly associated with lower self-acceptance. Looking at different variables that can affect not only the coach-athlete relationship but also the athlete’s perception of that relationship can give insight into a way to inform/instruct coaches so they can create an environment with ideal performance and maximum well-being in their athletes.