Sport Commitment Model Research Articles

Project on Elite Athlete Commitment (PEAK): II. A Direct Test and Expansion of the Sport Commitment Model with Elite Amateur Sportsmen

Prospective interview data obtained using the Scanlan Collaborative Interview Method (Scanlan, Russell, Wilson, & Scanlan, 2003) allow further testing and expansion of the Sport Commitment Model (Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, & Keeler, 1993) and provide a deeper understanding of the commitment process. We examine the Model constructs of Sport Enjoyment, Involvement Opportunities, Involvement Alternatives, Personal Investments, Social Constraints, and a potential new construct, Social Support, to understand how and under what conditions each of the constructs operates. The data from 15 New Zealand All Black rugby players support the Model predictions, show its generalizability from American youth sport to amateur elite-level New Zealand athletes, and suggest possible Model expansion and modification.

Predicting persistence or withdrawal in female handballers with social exchange theory

Two complementary studies were conducted to explain the dropout phenomenon with French female handball players, utilizing the tenets of social exchange theory (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959; Rusbult, 1980). In the first study, the aim was to more fully explore the sources of enjoyment by emphasizing the key variables in the costs/benefits analysis. We postulate that the costs/benefits analysis consists in each athlete estimating the probability of reaching the most desired consequences for him or her (e.g., learn and improve skill, affiliation with others, be better than the others). The subjects were 488 French women aged from 15–19 years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that enjoyment in handball was predicted by a latent variable (named perceived benefits) subjacent to perceptions of competence, autonomy, relatedness, progress, coach's support, and time of play. In the second study, we tested a sport commitment model based on the social exchange postulates, using SEM analyses and a prospective design over 8 months. In view of the results of study 1, we replaced the construct of enjoyment with perceived benefit. This analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of the enjoyment construct and is more consistent with the notion of cost and benefits outlined in social exchange theory. Participants were 253 French handball players between the ages of 14 and 16 years. A first set of analyses, focused on the differences, showed that dropout players perceived themselves as significantly less competent, less autonomous, less related to their team, lower in progress and less supported by their coach than persistent players. The second set of analyses with SEM revealed that the commitment level was positively associated with perceived benefits and negatively with social constraints and alternatives opportunities. Finally, a lack of commitment led to dropping out of the sport 8‐months later.

Determinants of Sport Commitment among Junior Tennis Players: Enjoyment as a Mediating Variable

This study examined determinants of junior tennis players’ motivation to continue involvement using the sport commitment model as the theoretical framework (20). Based on the sport enjoyment literature, a version of the original sport commitment model (i.e., all determinants directly predict commitment) and a revised model where enjoyment was a mediator of the relationships between determinants and level of commitment were tested. Tennis players (N = 198; ages 10–18 years) completed self-report questionnaires on the constructs of interest. Hypothesized relationships among variables were tested using structural equation modeling. Results provided support for both the original and mediational models, with enjoyment exerting the strongest effect on tennis commitment in both models. An alternative model was tested where both direct and indirect effects through enjoyment on commitment were specified. The alternative model was accepted as most theoretically appealing because determinants of commitment and sources and consequences of sport enjoyment were accounted for within the larger conceptual model.

TESTS OF THE SPORT COMMITMENT MODEL IN A FEMALE COLLEGE SAMPLE

691 The purpose of this research was to conduct tests of a revised version of the Sport Commitment Model in a female college sample. The Sport Commitment Model (SCM: Scanlan et al., 1993) proposes that commitment is determined by sport enjoyment, involvement alternatives, personal investments, social constraints, and involvement opportunities. For the present investigation the SCM, originally validated using child and adolescent samples, was revised to include the construct of financial constraints. It was expected that greater sport enjoyment, personal investment, involvement opportunities, social constraints, financial constraints, and less attractive involvement alternatives would lead to greater levels of sport commitment. Participants were 85 female volleyball players (age 18-24) from Division II schools participating in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Participants completed a 38-item questionnaire mid-season during a normal practice session. Exploratory Factor Analyses on the six sub-scales indicated that the questionnaire items loaded on their respective factors (with the exception of the involvement alternatives scale which omitted from subsequent analyses) and formed reliable scales (Coefficient Alpha ranged from.95 to.54). Zero-order correlations revealed that two of the four predictors, sport enjoyment and personal investments, were significantly related to sport commitment as hypothesized (renjoy=.78 and rpin=.34 p ≤.05). Stepwise multiple regression analysis found that sport enjoyment and personal investment were the dominant predictors of commitment accounting for 62% of the variance in sport commitment [F(2,82) = 67.74, p ≤.05]. These findings suggest the following: (1) similar to younger samples, the strongest antecedent of sport commitment is sport enjoyment, and (2) the SCM is applicable to and produces similar results in a college sample.

Team Sports and the Theory of Deliberate Practice

Two studies tested the theory of deliberate practice (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993) and contrasted results with the sport commitment model (Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, & Keeler, 1993a, 1993b). In Part I, international, national, and provincial soccer and field hockey players recalled the amount of time they spent in individual and team practice, sport-related activities, and everyday activities at the start of their career and every 3 years since. In Part II, these activities were rated in terms of their relevance for improving performance, effort and concentration required, and enjoyment. A monotonic relationship between accumulated individual plus team practice and skill level was found. In contrast with Ericsson et al.’s (1993) findings for musicians, relevant activities were also enjoyable, while concentration became a separate dimension from effort. The viability of a generalized theory of expertise is discussed.

A Test of the Sport Commitment Model Using Structural Equation Modeling

This article presents the results of a structural equation modeling analysis of the Sport Commitment Model. This model proposes that commitment is determined by sport enjoyment, involvement alternatives, personal investments, social constraints, and involvement opportunities. Preliminary analyses demonstrated that the model was applicable to both younger (< 12 years old) and older (> 13 years old) athletes, to males and females, and to three different team sports. Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that the proposed model was a good fit of the data (CFI = .981), with the findings accounting for 68% of the commitment variance. As predicted, greater sport enjoyment, involvement opportunities, and the personal investments of time and effort led to greater commitment. Counter to our initial hypothesis, commitment was negatively related to social constraints. Measurement problems led to the involvement alternatives component being excluded from tests of the model presented here, but not from the theoretical model.

The Sport Commitment Model: Measurement Development for the Youth-Sport Domain

This article presents our progress in developing a set of survey measures to assess constructs of the Sport Commitment Model in the youth-sport domain. Initial item development was accomplished through extensive literature reviews and the expert evaluations of research professionals, teachers, and young athletes. The items were then examined empirically with three separate samples numbering 140, 178, and 1342 athletes, respectively. For the first two samples, items formed reliable scales for each of the model constructs and separated into distinct factors largely as hypothesized. For the third sample, structural-equation modeling was employed and results supported the measurement of four constructs, with the other two constructs held from the measurement model because of item limitations. Overall, results of the three samples indicate reliable measures that can be used in tests of the Sport Commitment Model across samples of youth-sport athletes representing diversity in age, gender, and ethnicity.

An Introduction to the Sport Commitment Model

This article introduces a sport-specific theoretical model of commitment. Sport commitment is defined as a psychological state representing the desire or resolve to continue sport participation. The Sport Commitment Model proposes that sport commitment is determined by sport enjoyment, involvement alternatives, personal investments, social constraints, and involvement opportunities. Greater sport enjoyment, personal investments, social constraints, involvement opportunities, and less attractive involvement alternatives are predicted to lead to higher levels of sport commitment. Constitutive definitions were established for each of the model's components, and questionnaire items were developed. Results from the first empirical test of the model conducted with girls (n = 95) and boys (n = 83) participating in a Little League program showed that the questionnaire items formed reliable scales. Correlational analyses demonstrated that several predictors were related to sport commitment as hypothesized. Stepwise regression findings revealed that sport enjoyment and personal investments were the dominant predictors of commitment for this sample. Together, these two model components accounted for 58% of the sport commitment variance.