Should the Coaches of Elite Female Handball Teams Focus on Collective Efficacy or Group Cohesion?
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The purpose of this study was to examine the direction of the effect between cohesion and collective efficacy in elite female handball teams. A total of 84 female handball players completed 2 questionnaires at 2 time periods during the competitive season (i.e., early and midseason). Relationships were examined across time at an individual level after statistically controlling for previous group performance. Regression analyses including the autoregressive influence indicated that early-season collective efficacy positively predicted variance in midseason individual attractions to the group-task (ATG-T) after controlling for early-season ATG-T scores. In elite female handball teams, findings only supported collective efficacy as an antecedent of task cohesion and suggested that coaches should promote strategies dedicated to foster athletes’ beliefs about their team efficacy.
Heuzé is with the Department of APS, Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France. Bosselut is with the School of Human Kinetics, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Thomas is with the National Institute of Sport and Physical Education, Paris, France.
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