Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate, Self-Esteem, and Autonomous Motivation in Young Athletes: Testing Propositions from Achievement Goal and Self-Determination Theories

Sean P. Cumming,Ronald E. Smith,Daniel J. O'Rourke,Frank L. Smoll

doi:10.1155/2012/393914

Sean P. Cumming, Ronald E. Smith + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/393914

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Abstract

Interactions with parents are known to have a significant impact on children's self-esteem. In this study, designed to test propositions derived from Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, we assessed the influence of perceived parent-initiated mastery and ego motivational climates on self-esteem and self-esteem change in competitive youth swimmers over the course of a 32-week sport season. At each of three measurement points (early, mid, and late season), mastery climate scores on the Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Questionnaire-2 scale were positively related to global self-esteem scores and to a measure of relative motivational autonomy that reflects the intrinsic-extrinsic motivation continuum, whereas ego climate scores were negatively related to self-esteem and autonomy. Longitudinal analyses revealed that early-season mastery climate predicted positive changes in self-esteem over the course of the season, whereas ego climate predicted decreased self-esteem. Consistent with predictions derived from Self-Determination Theory, a meditational analysis revealed that these self-esteem changes were mediated by changes in autonomous motivation.

Highlights

The centrality of the self-concept has been emphasized by many theorists as an object of self-awareness and a determinant of behavior [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Drawing upon previous findings derived from Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) and SDT, we examined the possible meditational role of climate-linked autonomy change to changes in self-esteem within this longitudinal framework
The two motivational theories, AGT and SDT, that provided the conceptual framework for the present study, complement one another in important ways [13, 32]

Summary

Introduction

The centrality of the self-concept has been emphasized by many theorists as an object of self-awareness and a determinant of behavior [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Within a variety of settings, interactions with significant others provide important feedback in the form of reflected appraisals, and social comparison processes evoke selfevaluative inferences about one’s traits and competencies [10, 11] One such domain in which specific personal and reflected evaluations of self-worth can be generated is sport [12,13,14]. In part, this is because the environmental conditions created by significant others, such as coaches or parents, reinforce specific behaviors in youth athletes that contribute toward attaining psychological well-being [5, 13,14,15,16]. Sport exposes athletes to environmental influences that affect motivational processes thought to contribute to well-being and self-esteem [5, 17]

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