Longitudinal associations between peer motivational climate and athletes’ sport related well-being

Examining the mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation using a within- and between-level approach

Abstract

Objective. The present study objective is to examine (a) the links between temporal evolution of peer motivational climate and sport related well-being (SRWB), and (b) the mediational role of motivation in these relationships, using within and between level analyses. Method. 73 athletes aged 18-25 years completed questionnaires on peer motivational climate (peerMC), motivation, burnout, and engagement, every week among one month. Linear Mixed Models were used to analyze the data. Results. Task peerMC significantly predicted autonomous motivation at the within- and between-person level, burnout at the within-person level, and engagement at the within-person level. Moreover, autonomous motivation was identified as a mediator of the relationship between task peerMC and burnout at the within-person level, and task peerMC and engagement at the within- and between-person level. Ego peerMC significantly predicted autonomous motivation at the within-person level, and autonomous motivation was also confirmed as a mediator of the relationship between ego peerMC and burnout, as well as between ego peerMC and engagement at the within-person level. Conclusion. The results confirm that a task-oriented peerMC is likely to lead to the most positive consequences for athletes in terms of motivation and SRWB, whereas the ego-driven climate leads to more negative consequences.