The College of Education, Health and
Human Sciences
Announces the Final Examination of
Lindsey Renée Swanson
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
May 4, 2015 at 10:00 am
103 Ball Hall, University of Memphis
Memphis, TN
Biographical Sketch
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Georgia College & State University Institution
Master of Science, Professional Counseling, Georgia State University
Advisory Committee
Suzanne Lease, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, Committee chair
Christian Mueller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research
Douglas Strohmer, Ph.D., Professor Chair, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research
Sami Yli-Piipari, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Health and Sport Sciences
Major Field of Study
Counseling Psychology
Period of Preparation: 2012 – 2016
Comprehensive Examination Passed: August 2014
Understanding the Influence of the Coach and Team Relationships on Sport Motivation in Collegiate Student-Athletes
Abstract
The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) reports ever-increasing numbers of students participating in collegiate sports. As the demand for and intensity of collegiate sports continue to grow, there is a need to understand the sport environment and assist in the development of environments conducive to the well-being of student-athletes. This study used the vocational and industrial-organizational theory of person-environment fit to conceptualize the collegiate sport environment as it shares numerous characteristics with a work environment. This study examined the relationships between the perceived cohesion student-athletes experience with their coaches and teammates and their motivation to perform. The impact of three moderators (athletic identity, sex, and sport type) on the cohesion – motivation relationship was also examined. Using data collected from 219 male and female collegiate student-athletes, hierarchical multiple regressions tested the effects of the perceived coach-athlete relationship and team-athlete relationship on predicting athletes’ motivation to perform as well as the moderating effects of athletic identity, sex, and sport type. The athletes’ perceived coach-athlete cohesion, team-athlete cohesion, and athletic identity predicted the intrinsic and self-determined motivation levels of student-athletes. Athletic identity moderated the relationship between perceived team-athlete cohesion and motivation; sport type moderated the relationship between perceived coach-athlete cohesion and motivation. For student-athletes who reported a low athletic identity, perceived cohesion with their team was more predictive of their motivation levels than it was for those who had higher athletic identity. The degree to which they perceived cohesion with coach was more strongly predictive of self-determined motivation levels for student-athletes of individual sports compared to student-athletes involved in team sports. Clinical implications of the findings and future research are discussed.