The effect of peer interaction on sport confidence and achievement goal orientation in youth sport

Abstract

We used a longitudinal design to examine peer interaction in youth sport as an antecedent of changes in sport confidence and achievement goal orientation (comprising task and ego orientation). At the beginning of the winter playing season, 141 children and adolescents (from 8 to 15 years of age) who were members of soccer clubs in the Midwest of the USA, completed the Sport Confidence Inventory (SCI) and the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), and 51 of the original respondent group also completed the SCI, the TEOSQ, and a social network measure at the end of the playing season. To assess the effect of peer interaction on the young soccer players, we employed the influence model in social network analysis. The results showed that interaction with peers in the same age group positively influenced changes in task goal orientation and in sport confidence in regard to cognitive efficiency and resilience. In contrast, ego goal orientation was positively affected by interaction with peers in a different age group. The results increase understanding of young people's sport motivation as a function of their peer interaction.