Perceived Coach Interpersonal Style and Basic Psychological Needs as Antecedents of Athlete-Perceived Coaching Competency and Satisfaction With the Coach: A Multi-Level Analysis

摘要

The main aim of this study was to analyze the multilevel associations between perceived coach interpersonal style (supportive and thwarting style) and basic psychological needs (satisfaction and frustration), and athlete-perceived coaching competency and satisfaction with the coach. Participants were 640 male soccer players aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.26, SD = 1.68). We estimated multilevel models by including athlete-perceived coaching competency and satisfaction with the coach as dependent variables in the same model and including interpersonal style and basic psychological needs as fixed and random effects (i.e., within- and between-team intercepts and slopes). At the athlete level, supportive style and need for satisfaction were positive and significant predictors of coaching competency and satisfaction with the coach, whereas thwarting style was negatively associated with both dependent variables. At the team level, supportive style was positively associated with satisfaction with the coach. In addition, thwarting style was a significant moderator of the relationship between need for satisfaction and both dependent variables, and supportive style was a moderator of the relation between need frustration and satisfaction with the coach, whereas the thwarting style perceived by the team was also found to moderate the relationship between need frustration and satisfaction with the coach. The current study highlights the influence of the team's motivational environment in the prediction of athlete-perceived coaching competency and satisfaction with their coaches.