Tripartite Efficacy Profiles: A Cluster Analytic Investigation of Athletes’ Perceptions of Their Relationship With Their Coach
in Journal of Sport and Exercise PsychologyClick name to view affiliation
Recent studies of coach–athlete interaction have explored the bivariate relationships between each of the tripartite efficacy constructs (self-efficacy; other-efficacy; relation-inferred self-efficacy, or RISE) and various indicators of relationship quality. This investigation adopted an alternative approach by using cluster analyses to identify tripartite efficacy profiles within a sample of 377 individual sport athletes (Mage = 20.25, SD = 2.12), and examined how individuals in each cluster group differed in their perceptions about their relationship with their coach (i.e., commitment, satisfaction, conflict). Four clusters emerged: High (n = 128), Moderate (n = 95), and Low (n = 78) profiles, in which athletes reported relatively high, moderate, or low scores across all tripartite perceptions, respectively, as well as an Unfulfilled profile (n = 76) in which athletes held relatively high self-efficacy, but perceived lower levels of other-efficacy and RISE. Multivariate analyses revealed differences between the clusters on all relationship variables that were in line with theory. These results underscore the utility of considering synergistic issues in the examination of the tripartite efficacy framework.
Ben Jackson is with the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Daniel F. Gucciardi is with the School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. James A. Dimmock is with the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
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