Sport participation and acculturative stress of young migrants in Greece: The role of sport motivational environment

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine migrants’ level of acculturative stress in relation to sport participation, and to investigate the role of the sport motivational environment. Participants were 127 (60 girls) migrant high school students (M = 14.14, SD = 1.46 years of age). Among them, 48 were athletes competing in either team (N = 31) or individual sports (N = 17). All participants completed measures of acculturative stress, while those participating in organized sport additionally completed measures of autonomy supportive and controlling coaching behavior. The results revealed that young migrants who participated in sport showed lower levels of school-related stress and discrimination than those who did not participate in sports. Furthermore, autonomy-supportive coaching behavior was negatively related to acculturative stress, whereas controlling coaching style was positively related to acculturative stress. The results of the present study suggest that sport can serve as a buffer against acculturative stress and highlight the key role of the motivational environment in young athletes’ acculturation experiences.