Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Damien Clement.

Abstract

Researchers have investigated the relationship between motivational climate and achievement goal orientation in an effort to understand how to positively impact sport participants. However, little research has been done looking at the relationship between parents, coaches, and youth athletes with regards to these two constructs. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parent-initiated motivational climate, coach-created motivational climate, and youth athletes' achievement goal orientation. A secondary purpose was to determine which construct, parent-initiated or coach-created motivational climate, had a greater influence on youth athletes' achievement goal orientation. The sample consisted of male and female basketball players (N = 98) between the ages of eight and twelve. Participants completed the Achievement Goal Scale for Youth Sports, the Motivational Climate Scale for Youth Sports, and the Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Scale 2, and correlations were calculated for each of the scales. Results showed that when youth athletes perceived a mastery climate, they were more likely to report a task orientation. Conversely, when they perceived an ego climate, they were more likely to report an ego climate. Additionally, regression analyses revealed that perceptions of coach-created motivational climate were the more significant predictor of achievement goal orientation when compared to parent-initiated motivational climate. Future research in this area should attempt to further characterize the relationship between coaches, parents, and youth athletes with regards to motivational climate and achievement goal orientation, as well as investigate the impact of motivational climate interventions on the youth sport experience.

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