Motivational Context and Perfectionism Traits in Pediatric Sports

Heriberto Antonio Pineda-Espejel, Jaime León, Juan L. Núñez, Raquel Morquecho-Sánchez, Marina Trejo and Verónica Morales-Sánchez
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Heriberto Antonio Pineda-Espejel: Facultad de Deportes, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21100, Mexico
Jaime León: Departamento de Psicología, Sociología y Trabajo Social, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Juan L. Núñez: Departamento de Psicología, Sociología y Trabajo Social, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Raquel Morquecho-Sánchez: Facultad de Organización Deportiva, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza 66451, Mexico
Marina Trejo: Facultad de Deportes, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21100, Mexico
Verónica Morales-Sánchez: Departamento de Psicología Social, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: In sports, one of the social agents who can pressure an athlete for perfection in their performance is their coach. However, perfectionism has many potential negative consequences such as excessive concerns over even minor mistakes. The purpose of this study is to test a sequential model: the motivational context (i.e., task- and ego-involving climates generated by the coach and a coach’s support for autonomy) and the facets that determine the level of perfectionism exhibited as a trait (i.e., perceived coach pressure—a facet of socially prescribed perfectionism—and concerns over mistakes—a facet of self-oriented perfectionism). The sample included 317 athletes (133 boys and 184 girls) aged between 10 and 14 years, who answered a battery of questionnaires that evaluated an athlete’s perception of their motivational climate, their perception of support for autonomy, their perceived coach pressure and their concerns over mistakes. Using the structural equations model, the results showed that the task-involving climate was negatively correlated with perceived coach pressure, whereas the ego-involving climate and support for autonomy were positively correlated with perceived coach pressure and were positively correlated with concerns over mistakes. Finally, perceived coach pressure did not influence concerns over mistakes from the motivational context. This study highlights the importance of considering motivational contexts as important motivational elements of perfectionism in youth sports.

Keywords: motivation; personality; dispositional dimensions; young athletes; psychosocial perspective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11639-:d:661589

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