Antisocial and prosocial behavior in sport: The role of motivational climate, basic psychological needs, and moral disengagement

The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether the relationships between contextual factors and basic psychological needs were related to antisocial and prosocial behavior in sport. A two-study project employing Bayesian path analysis was conducted with competitive athletes (Study 1, n = 291; Study 2, n = 272). Coach and teammate autonomy-supportive climates had meaningful direct relations with need satisfaction and prosocial behavior. Coach and teammate controlling climates had meaningful direct relations with antisocial behavior. Need satisfaction was both directly and indirectly related with both prosocial and antisocial behavior, whereas moral disengagement was directly and indirectly related with antisocial behavior. Overall, these findings reflected substantial evidence from the literature on self-determination theory that autonomysupportive motivational climates are important environmental influences for need satisfaction, and are important correlates of prosocial behavior in sport, whereas controlling coach and teammate climates, along with moral disengagement, were important correlates of antisocial behavior in sport

Understanding sport continuation: an integration of the theories of planned behaviour and basic psychological needs

Objectives: Fostering individuals’ long-term participation in activities that promote positive development such as organised sport is an important agenda for research and practice. We integrated the theories of planned behaviour (TPB) and basic psychological needs (BPN) to identify factors associated with young adults’ continuation in organised sport over a 12-month period. Design: Prospective study, including an online psycho-social assessment at Time 1 and an assessment of continuation in sport approximately 12 months later. Methods: Participants (N = 292) aged between 17 and 21 years (M = 18.03; SD = 1.29) completed an online survey assessing the theories of planned behaviour and basic psychological needs constructs. Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM) was employed to test the hypothesised theoretical sequence, using informative priors for structural relations based on empirical and theoretical expectations. Results: The analyses revealed support for the robustness of the hypothesised theoretical model in terms of the pattern of relations as well as the direction and strength of associations among the constructs derived from quantitative summaries of existing research and theoretical expectations. The satisfaction of basic psychological needs was associated with more positive attitudes, higher levels of perceived behavioural control, and more favourable subjective norms; positive attitudes and perceived behavioural control were associated with higher behavioural intentions; and both intentions and perceived behavioural control predicted sport continuation. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the utility of Bayesian structural equation modelling for testing the robustness of an integrated theoretical model, which is informed by empirical evidence from meta-analyses and theoretical expectations, for understanding sport continuation

Controlling coaching and athlete thriving in elite adolescent netballers: The buffering effect of athletes' mental toughness

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to examine the association between controlling coach behaviours and athlete experiences of thriving and test the buffering effect of mental toughness on this relation. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Methods: In total, 232 female netballers aged 11 to 17 years (14.97 + 1.52) with between 1 and 15 years of experience in their sport (7.50 + 2.28) completed measures of controlling coach interpersonal style, mental toughness and thriving. Results: Latent moderated structural models indicated that (i) controlling coach behaviours were inversely related with experiences of vitality and learning; (ii) mental toughness was positively associated with psychological experiences of both dimensions of thriving; and (iii) mental toughness moderated the effect of coach's controlling interpersonal style on learning but not vitality experiences, such that the effect was weaker for individuals who reported higher levels of mental toughness. Conclusions: This study extends past work and theory to show that mental toughness may enable athletes to counteract the potentially deleterious effect of controlling coach interpersonal styles

The determinants of Public Grants and Venture Capital financing: Evidence from Europe

This monograph compares the characteristics of firms supported by public and private sources of early-stage financing to investigate funding patterns for innovative companies. We examine whether the two sources of funding target similar firms using a portfolio approach on EU-based firms raising either Venture Capital financing, public grants under the Horizon 2020 ‘SME Instrument’ scheme, or both in the period 2008-2017. Our findings show that venture capitalists fund more innovative and younger firms, whereas public investors finance smaller companies. This pattern is supported by robustness checks and expansions that address multiple dimensions of heterogeneity behaviors in the interaction of private and public funding

The Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice tool provides informative assessments of clinical and professional dimensions of student performance in undergraduate placements: a longitudinal validity and reliability study

© 2020 Australian Physiotherapy Association Questions: Do one or two factors best represent clinical performance scores obtained via the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) and what is the nature of their characterisation? To what extent are the same number of factors and their interpretation, and item scaling captured equally over time and across contexts (eg, clinical subdisciplines) for assessments of clinical performance via the APP? Design: Archival and longitudinal study of undergraduate students’ clinical performances for each of four final-year clinical placements. Participants: A total of 561 undergraduate physiotherapy students from one Australian university who were enrolled to complete their final-year clinical placements between 2014 and 2017. Outcome measures: Clinical educators’ assessments of student performance across seven key domains of clinical practice: professional behaviour, communication, assessment, analysis and planning, intervention, evidence-based practice and risk management. Results: Factor analyses supported the superiority of a two-factor representation of the APP, including dimensions characterised by professional and clinical domains, when compared with a unidimensional structure of an overarching ‘clinical performance’ factor. It was also found that the two-factor representation and item scaling was consistent across four clinical placements covering typical areas of physiotherapy practice. In other words, the same constructs are being assessed equally well across context and time. Conclusions: The APP is the nationally adopted assessment tool that is used to evaluate clinical competence to practise as a physiotherapist in Australia and New Zealand. These findings provide new evidence for an updated scoring protocol in which clinical factors are distinguished from professional competencies

On the transition into elite rugby league: Perceptions of players and coaching staff

Transitions need to be effectively managed to allow for successful progression through developmental stages in many life domains. In this study, we aimed to generate new insights into within-career athletic progressions by exploring players’ and coaching staff’s perspectives on the transition from subelite to elite level rugby league within an Australian context. A personal construct psychology approach including experience cycle methodology was used to interview 17 purposefully recruited male rugby league players (Mage = 21.71, SD = 2.79) who had been or were part of an elite rugby league squad, and 9 staff (Mage = 47.14, SD = 11.13) who had experience working with transitioning rugby league athletes. Overall, 21 themes (11 combined, 5 unique for each group) were extracted from the participants’ discourse using a thematic analysis, all of which were separately conceptualized into 3 global themes: personal attributes, environmental factors, and critical incidents. Our findings provided support for the robustness of a holistic, life span developmental perspective of career transitions in sport contexts. The theoretical integration of this life span perspective with the Job Demands–Resources model is discussed as a fruitful avenue for future research and theory

Measuring decentering as a unidimensional construct: The development and initial validation of the Decentering Scale for Sport

Decentering, the ability to observe one's thoughts and feelings from a detached view, has gained increased attention in recent years. With this renewed interest comes a need for a reliable and valid tool to measure decentering in sport contexts. Therefore, in this multi-study paper we report the development and initial validation of a sport-specific self-report measure of decentering, the Decentering Scale for Sport (DSS). Based on an initial pool of context-specific items with acceptable content validity, a unidimensional decentering construct was confirmed in four independent athletic samples (n = 1255). Satisfactory internal consistency reliability and partial measurement invariance across gender and sport type was demonstrated. Convergent and concurrent validity of the DSS was established by showing positive and medium to large associations with mindfulness, well-being, flow, vitality, enjoyment and positive affect, and negative and medium to large associations with cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance, anxiety and negative affect. Discriminant validity of decentering with mindfulness and self-compassion was also established. Findings suggest that the DSS is a reliable and valid measure of decentering in sport contexts, and can be applied in future research and applied practice to measure decentering

Exploring longitudinal measurement invariance and the continuum hypothesis in the Swedish version of the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ): An exploratory structural equation modeling approach

Objectives: The aims of the present study were to: (a) examine longitudinal measurement invariance in the Swedish version of the Behavioral Regulations in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ) and (b) examine the continuum hypothesis of motivation as postulated within self-determination theory. Design: Two-wave survey. Method: Young competitive athletes (N = 354) responded to the BRSQ early in the season (November) and at the end of the athletic season (April). Data were analyzed using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor ESEM. Results: We found support for strict longitudinal measurement invariance in the BRSQ. Latent mean comparisons showed an increase in external regulation and amotivation across the season. The latent factor correlations indicated some deviations from a simplex pattern related to amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation. In the bifactor model, intrinsic motivation items had negative factor loadings on the global factor, identified regulation items had factor loadings approaching zero, and introjected and external regulation and amotivation items all had moderate to strong positive factor loadings. Conclusion: The present study adds longitudinal measurement invariance to the psychometric evidence of the BRSQ. Research on why the latent means of the behavioral regulations changed over the athletic season is warranted. The continuum hypothesis was partially supported. Latent factor correlations and factor loadings on the global factor in the bifactor ESEM highlighted that the discriminant validity of the controlled regulations and amotivation needs further investigation

Is Sport an Untapped Resource for Recovery from First Episode Psychosis? A narrative review and call to action

AIM: The objective of this narrative review is to address the question: Should sport-based life skills interventions be developed for young people recovering from first episode psychosis? METHODS: A prose was developed through a broad, critical narrative review of literatures on (1) first episode psychosis recovery (FEP); and (2) life skills and sport, highlighting the conceptual (and limited empirical) links between the two. This style of review allowed for a critical examination of evidence from seemingly distinct literatures to address a question yet to be explored empirically. RESULTS: The review process highlighted important overlaps between psychosis recovery and sport. A review of the FEP recovery literature reveals that important components of an individual's recovery following a psychotic episode are: (1) physical activity, (2) opportunities to build life skills, and (3) social connectivity. A review of the sport and life skills literature suggests that sport can be a powerful platform from which to: (1) promote physical activity, (2) teach life skills, and (3) foster social connectivity within vulnerable populations. Despite the clear links between the two fields, mental health interventions that combine both life skills training components and physical activity in a context that promotes social connectivity are scarce to none. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that sport-based interventions could be an opportunity to provide life skills training, social connectivity and physical activity opportunities in one intervention to individuals recovering from their first psychotic episode. We call for their development, and provide empirically-based recommendations for intervention design