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Purpose: Guided by Duda’s hierarchical conceptualization of the motivational climate that draws from self-determination and achievement goal theories, this study provides initial evidence of the psychometric properties of the Empowering and Disempowering Motivational Climate Questionnaire in physical education (EDMCQ-PE). Method: Questionnaire based with two samples of Welsh secondary school pupils. Results: Exploratory structural equation modeling provided a better fit of the data to the hypothesized model than confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, a two-factor composite (i.e., empowering and disempowering) lower-order model provided an acceptable fit and clear parameter estimates. This two-factor model also demonstrated scalar gender measurement invariance. Discussion: The evidence from this study suggests the EDMCQ-PE is a promising scale for the assessment of secondary school pupils’ perceptions of the empowering and disempowering features of the motivational climate created by their physical education teachers. Conclusion: Moving forward, the statistical approach employed in this paper can inform future studies that develop questionnaire methodology in physical education and from an applied perspective; the EDMCQ-PE can be used by researchers and teachers to assess the motivational climate in PE and help inform the pedagogy underpinning teachers’ classes.

Recent research suggests that validation-seeking and dimensions of perfectionism may be antecedents of athlete burnout. The present investigation examined whether validation and growth-seeking mediate the relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. One-hundred and fifty canoe polo and kayak slalom athletes recruited from the top two divisions in the UK completed measures of validation and growth-seeking (GOI), perfectionism (HMPS), and athlete burnout (ABQ). Analyses supported the mediating role of validation-seeking in the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. However, while bivariate correlations indicated that self-oriented perfectionism was positively related to both validation and growth-seeking, neither mediated the self-oriented perfectionism-burnout relationship. The findings suggest that validation-seeking may be an important psychological factor in the development of burnout for athletes exhibiting high levels of socially prescribed perfectionism. The relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and athlete burnout remains unclear because of its association with multiple motives and with socially prescribed perfectionism.