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Measurement of the sports talent development environment and its relationship with athletes’ self-determined motivation and burnout
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Type
Thesis
Author
Li, Chunxiao
Supervisor
Wang, John Chee Keng
Pyun, Do Young
Abstract
The talent development (TD) environment has significant roles in nurturing talented athletes. However, there were psychometric limitations of the scale (i.e., Talent Development Environment Questionnaire, TDEQ) to accurately measure the key TD environmental factors. There also existed a dearth of literature investigating the influences of the TD environmental factors on important determinants of TD such as needs satisfaction and motivation. Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a meta-motivational theory, provides the theoretical framework to investigate and explain the issue. This thesis, comprising four studies, aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the revised TDEQ and the relationships between the TD environmental factors and burnout, building on the perspective of SDT.
Studies 1 and 2 investigated the psychometric properties of the revised TDEQ among talented teenage athletes in the local context. The results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis yielded the 25-item TDEQ-5 consisting of the five key TD environmental factors: long-term development focus, holistic quality preparation, support network, communication, and alignment of expectations. It was also shown that the TDEQ-5 had adequate internal reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and multigroup invariance.
Employing structural equation modeling, Study 3 investigated the proposed model hypothesizing the relationships among the TD environmental factors as measured by the TDEQ-5, SDT constructs (i.e., needs satisfaction and self-determined motivation), and burnout. It was found that the data fit the model adequately. Three environmental factors (i.e., long-term development focus, holistic quality preparation, and communication) negatively predicted athlete burnout via needs satisfaction and self-determined motivation. In addition, self-determined motivation was a partial mediator in the relationship between needs satisfaction and accomplishment, and there were no direct relationships between needs satisfaction and exhaustion/devaluation.
To gain further insights on the proposed model in Study 3, Study 4 used focus-group interviews to compare and contrast the TD environmental factors between teenage athletes with high and low burnout levels. Results indicated participants with high burnout levels tended to have encountered with more negative and less positive TD environmental antecedents while participants with low burnout levels were likely to experience more positive and less negative TD environmental events. In conclusion, the current research shows that the identified TD environmental factors were important in enhancing athletes’ needs satisfaction and motivation, and subsequently preventing or avoiding athlete burnout for effective TD. It is suggested that significant others (e.g., coach, peers, and parents) should promote positive TD environmental factors as well as avoid negative ones in TD practice. Limitations and future research directions are provided to close this thesis.
Studies 1 and 2 investigated the psychometric properties of the revised TDEQ among talented teenage athletes in the local context. The results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis yielded the 25-item TDEQ-5 consisting of the five key TD environmental factors: long-term development focus, holistic quality preparation, support network, communication, and alignment of expectations. It was also shown that the TDEQ-5 had adequate internal reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and multigroup invariance.
Employing structural equation modeling, Study 3 investigated the proposed model hypothesizing the relationships among the TD environmental factors as measured by the TDEQ-5, SDT constructs (i.e., needs satisfaction and self-determined motivation), and burnout. It was found that the data fit the model adequately. Three environmental factors (i.e., long-term development focus, holistic quality preparation, and communication) negatively predicted athlete burnout via needs satisfaction and self-determined motivation. In addition, self-determined motivation was a partial mediator in the relationship between needs satisfaction and accomplishment, and there were no direct relationships between needs satisfaction and exhaustion/devaluation.
To gain further insights on the proposed model in Study 3, Study 4 used focus-group interviews to compare and contrast the TD environmental factors between teenage athletes with high and low burnout levels. Results indicated participants with high burnout levels tended to have encountered with more negative and less positive TD environmental antecedents while participants with low burnout levels were likely to experience more positive and less negative TD environmental events. In conclusion, the current research shows that the identified TD environmental factors were important in enhancing athletes’ needs satisfaction and motivation, and subsequently preventing or avoiding athlete burnout for effective TD. It is suggested that significant others (e.g., coach, peers, and parents) should promote positive TD environmental factors as well as avoid negative ones in TD practice. Limitations and future research directions are provided to close this thesis.
Date Issued
2014
Call Number
GV706.4 Li
Date Submitted
2014