The Coach-Athlete Relationship and Athlete Psychological Outcomes

in Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology
Victoria McGee*,1 and J.D. DeFreese*,1
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  • 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2018-0010
Keywords:
athlete burnout; engagement; interpersonal relationships; well-being
In Print:
Volume 13: Issue 1
Page Range:
152–174
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This study examined associations among athlete perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship and psychological outcomes of burnout and engagement across a competitive season. We hypothesized that higher levels of the three markers of the coach-athlete relationship (closeness, commitment, and complementarity) would be negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with engagement across a sport season. American female collegiate rowers (N = 37; Mage = 19.3 years, SD = 1.18) completed online self-report assessments of study variables at four seasonal survey waves. Multilevel linear modeling analyses revealed closeness to be a significant predictor of seasonal global burnout and engagement across the season assessment period. Findings inform future research and intervention to promote engagement and deter burnout via improving coach-athlete closeness.

This project was completed while McGee was a student a the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. DeFreese is with the Dept. of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.

Address author correspondence to J.D. DeFreese at defreese@email.unc.edu.

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology

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