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Using self-determination theory as the framework, we examined the temporal ordering between satisfaction and thwarting of basic psychological needs and motivation. We accomplished this goal by using a two-wave 7-month partial least squares path modeling approach (PLS-PM) among a sample of 94 adolescent athletes (M _age = 15.96) in an intensive training setting. The PLS-PM results showed significant paths leading: (a) from T1 satisfaction of basic psychological need for competence to T2 identified regulation, (b) from T1 external regulation to T2 thwarting and satisfaction of basic psychological need for competence, and (c) from T1 amotivation to T2 satisfaction of basic psychological need for relatedness. Overall, our results suggest that the relationship between basic psychological need and motivation varied depending on the type of basic need and motivation assessed. Basic psychological need for competence predicted identified regulation over time whereas amotivation and external regulation predicted basic psychological need for relatedness or competence over time.

The negative feelings that are part of burnout syndrome may prompt athletes to drop out of their sport. The objective of the current study was therefore to examine the influence of athlete burnout profiles on playing status 6 years later. The participants of this study were 458 boys and girls between 14 and 18 years old (M = 15.44; SD = .95) enrolled in elite handball training centers. Cluster analysis on athlete burnout and multinomial logistic regressions on the playing status were conducted. The results suggest that those individuals with a “higher burnout” profile at Time 1 were more likely to have stopped playing handball 6 years later. It therefore seems important to develop strategies to prevent burnout in young athletes enrolled in elite training structures and to promote long-term engagement and well-being in elite sporting activity.

This study aimed to examine the factor structure, the simplex structure, and the self-determination continuum of the Youth Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (YBRSQ); to test longitudinal invariance of the YBRSQ and to examine differential item functioning in the YBRSQ responses as a function of sex, type of sport, and competitive level; and to explore the dynamics of change and stability of motivational regulation across the competitive season in a sample of 736 adolescent athletes involved in intensive training settings across 3 measurement points (beginning, middle, and end). Results provided evidence of a simplex structure of YBRSQ scores and revealed differences between self-determination-theory-based measures of motivation in various contexts. Results revealed partial strict temporal invariance of the YBRSQ and did not reveal differential item functioning. Finally, the results demonstrated an increase in amotivation and external regulation and a decrease in intrinsic motivation across the season, probably because of daily pressures.

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal profiles of sport motivation using a 3-wave design (beginning, middle, and end of the season) among a sample of 736 adolescent athletes involved in intensive training centers. The authors explored whether several subgroups of athletes representing distinct motivation profiles emerged from the analyses and whether athletes reporting various scores of satisfaction and thwarting of basic psychological needs (BPNS and BPNT) at time 1 (T1) belonged to distinct motivational profiles at T1, T2, and T3. Results of latent profile transition analyses showed 4 different profiles: highly self-determined, self-determined, moderate autonomous and controlled motivation, moderately self-determined (T1 and T2), and high autonomous and controlled motivation (T3) profiles. Moreover, the likelihood of belonging to particular profiles was significantly predicted by athletes’ BPNS and BPNT scores assessed at T1. Thus, a motivational profile approach may prove useful in understanding sport motivation as a dynamic system.

This study examined (a) the developmental trajectories of athlete burnout perceptions, (b) the gender differences on these trajectories, and (c) the interactions in the developmental trajectories of the three burnout dimensions. A five-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 895 athletes (47.6% female; M _age = 15.67). Results of multilevel growth models revealed that during adolescence, “reduced sense of accomplishment” linearly decreased and was higher for girls than boys. Moreover, “emotional/physical exhaustion” increased then decreased, and seemed to have been attenuated at time points in which athletes also had higher levels of “sport devaluation.” Finally, “sport devaluation” increased over time with higher increases for girls than boys. Results of our study depicted the general and the gendered shape of the trajectory of burnout perceptions during adolescence, and underlined the advantages of considering the multifaceted nature of burnout to enable a deeper examination of the within-person synergies in the development of the three dimensions.