Examining associations between self-conscious emotions and implicit and reflective processes among adolescent girls and boys

ObjectiveExamine the association between self-conscious emotions and adolescents’ implicit attitudes (i.e., automatic evaluations or “gut reactions”) towards sport.DesignIn this cross-sectional design, 162 adolescents completed self-report questionnaires and a single category implicit association task. Study protocols transitioned from in-person to online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.MeasuresSelf-conscious emotions (i.e., fitness-related shame and pride) were assessed using the BSE-FIT (Castonguay et al., 2016), and sport enjoyment (i.e., reflective attitudes) was assessed using four items from Scanlan and colleagues measure of adolescents’ sport experiences (Scanlan et al., 1993). The Single-Category Implicit Association Task using images was used to measure their implicit attitudes towards sport (Karpinski & Steinman, 2006).ResultsBased on a structural equation model accounting for age and gender, higher levels of fitness pride related to higher sport enjoyment and higher levels of fitness shame related to less favourable implicit attitudes towards sport.ConclusionOverall, results might reflect differences in when self-conscious emotions are most relevant, whereby pride is more relevant when reflecting on experiences in sport, however fitness shame is related to implicit attitudes elicited from the sport context. Interventions that target affective judgments of the self may be useful to incorporate into strategies to reduce sport drop out in adolescents.     

Self-compassion and body-related self-conscious emotions: Examining within- and between-person variation among adolescent girls in sport

ObjectivesSelf-compassion protects against the occurrence of negative body image experiences and may be particularly useful in defending against negative body- and appearance-related self-conscious emotions in sport. The aim of this study was to examine within- and between-person associations between self-compassion and appearance-related self-conscious emotions.Design & MethodIn a three-year longitudinal cohort study, adolescent girls involved in organized sport (N = 518, M_age = 14.02 ± 1.38) completed yearly self-reports of self-compassion, body- and appearance-related shame, guilt, embarrassment, and envy.ResultsBased on findings from multilevel models, higher levels of both average and time-varying self-compassion were associated with lower levels of body-related shame, guilt, embarrassment, and envy. Specifically, girls reported lower levels of negatively valanced self-conscious emotions when self-compassion was higher than usual.ConclusionsThese findings support previous accounts on the utility of self-compassion as a buffer against negative body image experiences and extend these findings to appearance-related self-conscious emotions in the sport context. In light of the declining levels of self-compassion for girls in adolescence, it is important to focus intervention efforts on cultivating self-compassion to protect girls from negative body-related emotional experiences in sport.     

What’s a coach to do? Exploring coaches’ perspectives of body image in girls sport

Adolescent athletes report body image concerns that negatively impact their sport experiences and participation. The coach’s perspective may be informative to how the context of sport perpetuates, supports, or protects from negative body image. Yet few coaches are represented in this area of research. The purpose of the present study was to explore coaches’ perceptions of body image in girls sport. Thirteen coaches with an average of 10 years of experience working with girls in primarily non-aesthetic team sports were interviewed. Based on inductive thematic analysis, coaches’ perceptions of the athletes’ body image concerns were reflected in four themes labelled (i) body image: the ‘elephant’ on the field (i.e., identifying the unspoken nature of body image), (ii) agents of body image in sport (i.e., parents, coaches, and media), (iii) skill over appearance (i.e., focusing on athletic skill and competence), and (vi) systemic strategies. This last theme offers several considerations for improving the sport context with a lens to improve body image. Of relevance, it was apparent that all coaches operationalized body image as predicated on appearance, body shape, and weight and this narrow simplistic perception could guide future programs and practices. Taken together, findings highlight the need to intervene with coaches to provide adequate support and education on body image in girls sport.     

Positive academic emotions moderate the relationship between self‐regulation and academic achievement

Background. Research has shown how academic emotions are related to achievement and to cognitive/motivational variables that promote achievement. Mediated models have been proposed to account for the relationships among academic emotions, cognitive/motivational variables, and achievement, and research has supported such mediated models, particularly with negative emotions. Aims. The study tested the hypotheses: (1) self‐regulation and the positive academic emotions of enjoyment and pride are positive predictors of achievement; and (2) enjoyment and pride both moderate the relationship between self‐regulation and achievement. Sample. Participants were 1,345 students enrolled in various trigonometry classes in one university. Methods. Participants answered the Academic Emotions Questionnaire‐Math (Pekrun, Goetz, & Frenzel, 2005) and a self‐regulation scale (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) halfway through their trigonometry class. The students’ final grades in the course were regressed to self‐regulation, positive emotions, and the interaction terms to test the moderation effects. Results and Conclusions. Enjoyment and pride were both positive predictors of grades; more importantly, both moderated the relationship between self‐regulation and grades. For students who report higher levels of both positive emotions, self‐regulation was positively associated with grades. However, for those who report lower levels of pride, self‐regulation was not related to grades; and, for those who reported lower levels of enjoyment, self‐regulation was negatively related to grades. The results are discussed in terms of how positive emotions indicate positive appraisals of task/outcome value, and thus enhance the positive links between cognitive/motivational variables and learning.     

Employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility: Effects on pride,embeddedness, and turnover

We examined socioemotional microfoundations of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and posited that employees’ perceived CSR triggers a perception-emotion-attitude-behavior sequence. Drawing from appraisal theory of emotion, we hypothesized that perceived CSR relates to emotions (i.e., organizational pride), which relate to job attitudes (i.e., organizational embeddedness) that in turn relate to job behaviors (i.e., decreased turnover). To test this model, we conducted a multistudy investigation involving different samples, designs, and data-analytic methods. In Study 1, we conducted an experiment and found that participants who envisioned working in a firm that was active regarding CSR activities reported greater pride and organizational embeddedness. We then conducted two field studies using a nonmanagerial sample (Study 2) and a managerial sample (Study 3) and found that participants’ perceived CSR was positively related to their pride, which in turn was related to stronger organizational embeddedness. Stronger organizational embeddedness was related to lower turnover 6 months later in Study 2 but not in Study 3. In Study 4, we conducted a longitudinal four-wave 14-month study to test the proposed relationships from a within-person conceptualization, and the results were also supportive. Thus, the proposed perception-emotion-attitude-behavior framework received broad support and illustrated that stronger microfoundations of CSR research could be constructed through understanding employees’ emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral reactions to their perceptions of their employers’ CSR.     

Women’s Precollege Sports Participation, Enjoyment of Sports, and Self-esteem

This study tested a model that specifies that the psychosocial impact of women’s precollege sports participation depends on the quality of their sports experience, that is, on participants’ enjoyment of sports and the benefits derived from athletic pursuits. A sample of 245 college women (mean age?=?19.9 years) provided retrospective reports of their precollege sports involvement as well as assessments of their enjoyment of sports, perceived physical competence, body image, gender role orientation, and self-esteem. Consistent with past research, women students’ precollege sport participation was a modest predictor of their self-esteem in bivariate analyses. Follow-up analyses revealed that enjoyment of sports mediated the sports participation/self-esteem relationship and implied that female participants who find sports less enjoyable may be at risk of experiencing declining self-esteem. However, enjoyment of sports explained little unique variance in global self-esteem after we controlled for the influence of other sports-related benefits (e.g., improved physical competence). Implications for those who hope to help more girls reap psychosocial benefits from sporting activities are discussed.     

Appearance-related cyberbullying: A qualitative investigation of characteristics,content, reasons,and effects

The aim of this study was to explore 15-year-old adolescents’ experiences of appearance-related cyberbullying. Twenty-seven adolescents participated in four focus groups. The adolescents in this study perceived that it is common to be targeted in appearance-related cyberbullying, especially for girls, and that appearance-related cyberbullying is considered to be a potent strategy when attempting to hurt girls. Girls often received comments about being fat, while among boys, it was common to receive comments about looking or seeming “gay.” According to the adolescents, an important reason for engaging in appearance-related cyberbullying was to attain higher social status in the peer group. The girls and boys reacted differently to appearance-related cyberbullying. Boys tended to act out or take no offence, while girls experienced lower self-esteem and feelings of depression. Findings in this study contribute to research on cyberbullying as well as to research on girls’ body esteem development.     

Commitment, enjoyment and motivation in young soccer competitive players

Building upon Deci's and Ryan (1985) Self-determination theory as well as the sportive behavioral correlates of the model of Commitment (Scanlan et al., 1976), this study tries to establish the relationship between motivation and commitment in youth sport. For this purpose 454 young competitive soccer players answered the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) and the Sport Commitment Questionnaire (SCQ) during the regular season. The SMS measures the three dimensions of the Motivational continuum (the Amotivation, the Extrinsic Motivation and the Intrinsic Motivation). The SCQ measures the Sportive Commitment and its composing factors such as the Enjoyment, the Alternatives to the sport, and the Social Pressure. Our findings provided a clear pattern of the influence of motivation in sport enjoyment and commitment, outlining the positive contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to enjoyment and commitment. Amotivation, contributes positively to alternatives to sport and negatively to enjoyment and commitment, It should be noted that extrinsic motivation has a higher contribution to enjoyment whereas intrinsic motivation has a higher contribution to commitment.     

Hope, pride, and processing during optimal and nonoptimal times of day

We examine the conditions under which the distinct positive emotions of hope versus pride facilitate more or less fluid cognitive processing. Using individuals' naturally occurring time of day preferences (i.e., morning vs. evening hours), we show that specific positive emotions can differentially influence processing resources. We argue that specific positive emotions are more likely to influence processing and behavior during nonoptimal times of day, when association-based processing is more likely. We show in three experiments that hope, pride, and a neutral state differentially influence fluid processing on cognitive tasks. Incidental hope facilitates fluid processing during nonoptimal times of day (compared with pride and neutral), improving performance on tasks requiring fluid intelligence (Experiment 1) and increasing valuation estimates on tasks requiring that preferences be constructed on the spot (Experiments 2 and 3). We also provide evidence that these differences in preference and valuation occur through a process of increased imagination (Experiment 3). We contribute to emotion theory by showing that different positive emotions have different implications for processing during nonoptimal times of day.     

A prospective study on the impact of peer and parental pressure on body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys

The current study explores the role of appearance-related social pressure regarding changes in body image in adolescent girls (n=236) and boys (n=193) over a 1-year-period. High school students aged 11-16 completed measures of body dissatisfaction (i.e., weight and muscle concerns) and appearance-related social pressure from peers and parents. Three aspects proved to be particularly crucial: Parental encouragement to control weight and shape was a strong predictor of weight concerns in boys and girls alike; influences of friends affected gender-specific body image concerns by leading to weight concerns in girls and muscle concerns in boys; finally appearance-based exclusion was a predictor of weight concerns in boys. The findings provide longitudinal evidence for the crucial impact of appearance-related social pressure and suggest that a detailed assessment of different types of social impacts can identify concrete targets for effective prevention and therapy for weight-related problems among adolescents.     

Perceived motivational climate influences athletes’ emotion regulation strategies,emotions, and psychobiosocial experiences

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether athletes’ perceptions about the motivational climate created by their coach influence emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), emotions, and psychobiosocial experiences of athletes. A sample of 459 competitive athletes (201 women, 258 men), aged 16–35 years, drawn from individual and team sports, completed self-assessment measures of perceived motivational climate, emotion regulation, sport emotions, and psychobiosocial experiences. Main results from structural equation modeling showed that perceived mastery climate was positively related to cognitive reappraisal, pleasant emotions, and psychobiosocial experiences, while perceived performance climate was positively related to expressive suppression and unpleasant emotions. Moreover, mediation analysis showed perceived mastery climate to have positive indirect effects on pleasant emotions and psychobiosocial experiences via cognitive reappraisal, while performance climate had indirect effects on unpleasant emotions via expressive suppression. Overall findings suggest that the type of motivational climate created by the coach has consequences in terms of athletes’ emotion regulation strategies, emotions, and psychobiosocial experiences.     

Cultural affordances and emotional experience: socially engaging and disengaging emotions in Japan and the United States

The authors hypothesized that whereas Japanese culture encourages socially engaging emotions (e.g., friendly feelings and guilt), North American culture fosters socially disengaging emotions (e.g., pride and anger). In two cross-cultural studies, the authors measured engaging and disengaging emotions repeatedly over different social situations and found support for this hypothesis. As predicted, Japanese showed a pervasive tendency to reportedly experience engaging emotions more strongly than they experienced disengaging emotions, but Americans showed a reversed tendency. Moreover, as also predicted, Japanese subjective well-being (i.e., the experience of general positive feelings) was more closely associated with the experience of engaging positive emotions than with that of disengaging emotions. Americans tended to show the reversed pattern. The established cultural differences in the patterns of emotion suggest the consistent and systematic cultural shaping of emotion over time.     

Communication profiles and sport experiences of collegiate track and field athletes

ObjectivesAthletes often communicate with one another and exchange information, attitudes, and feelings that can influence their sport experiences. In an effort to better understand the sport communication context, the purpose of the current study was to (a) describe communication profiles of athletes (b) examine potential predictors (i.e., team identity, sex) of profile membership, and (c) examine the salience of these profiles by assessing profile group differences on athletes’ perceptions of burnout, engagement, satisfaction, and enjoyment.DesignCross-sectional survey-based study.MethodCollegiate track and field athletes (N = 219) completed measures of demographic information, team communication, team identity, burnout, engagement, enjoyment, and satisfaction. Communication profiles were examined using latent profile analysis. Using the three-step method in Mplus, possible prediction of profile membership and profile differences in perceptions of sport experiences were examined.ResultsThree profiles emerged: the Less Effective Communicators, the Supportive Communicators, and the Functional Communicators. Athletes with greater team identity were more likely to be in the Supportive Communicators profile (p < 0.001), male participants were more likely to be in the Functional Communicators profile (p < 0.05) than the other profiles, and female participants were less likely to be in the Less Effective Communicators profile than the Supportive Communicators profile (p < 0.05). The Less Effective Communicators had greater perceptions of burnout (ps < 0.01) and lower perceptions of engagement (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05), satisfaction (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001), and enjoyment (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05) than the Supportive and Functional Communicators. Supportive Communicators had greater satisfaction (p < 0.001) and enjoyment (p < 0.001) than the Functional Communicators.ConclusionsDifferent profiles of communication in track and field athletes may have implications for athletes’ sport experiences and warrant continued study.     

Body image and disordered eating prevention in girls’ sport: A partner-driven and stakeholder-informed scoping review of interventions

Despite the evidenced benefits of participating in organized sport, adolescent girls consistently report lower rates of sport participation, worse sport experiences, and higher dropout rates, compared to boys. Body image concerns have been linked to this gender disparity and established as a critical predictor of disordered eating, thus necessitating effective prevention efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of body image concerns and disordered eating for adolescent girls. In partnership with the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC; Canada), the present scoping review was conducted to examine the nature and characteristics of sport-specific body image and disordered eating interventions for adolescent girls. Fourteen studies were identified through various search strategies. Over half of the studies demonstrated modest yet worthwhile effects on various body image and disordered eating outcomes. Intervention characteristics (i.e., frequency, modes of delivery, topics, material, outcomes measured) varied across initiatives. Fifty-nine national, provincial, and local sport system representatives were consulted as stakeholders and provided practical input to the results of the scoping review. Sport stakeholders favoured the delivery of a multidimensional, multicomponent program, with a combination of evidence-based techniques. This synthesis of knowledge will shape the development and dissemination of future programs, and contribute to the development of equitable sport participation opportunities for Canadian girls.     

Exploring the Contribution of the Caring Climate to the Youth Sport Experience

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between young athletes’ perceptions of the caring climate on their soccer teams to their enjoyment, attitudes and, behaviors toward their coach and teammates, and commitment to the sport. Athletes (N = 184) in a community soccer league volunteered to complete a survey. Results revealed that athletes who perceived a caring climate on their teams were significantly more likely to report higher enjoyment, more positive attitudes towards their coaches/teammates, greater commitment to soccer, and engage in more caring behaviors towards their coaches/teammates. Results suggest that a caring climate may benefit young athletes.     

A comparison of authentic and transformational leadership in sport

Transformational and authentic leadership are two models of leadership, which have some similarities and are relevant to sport. However, these leadership models are also distinct and consequently may predict athlete outcomes differently. Authentic leadership has received little attention in sport and so research is needed to examine how it is unique in terms of what it adds to dominant sport leadership models. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether authentic leadership (a) is empirically distinct from transformational leadership and (b) adds to transformational leadership by explaining unique variance in commitment and enjoyment. A total of 421 (227 female, M_age = 20.32) team sport athletes took part in the study by completing a questionnaire. Authentic leadership was correlated to transformational leadership, suggesting transformational and authentic leadership show some convergent validity. However, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that authentic leadership also shows discriminant validity to transformational leadership and has incremental predictive power above that of transformational leadership, in terms of predicting athletes’ enjoyment and commitment. Our findings enhance our understanding of authentic leadership in sport and clearly show that it is distinct from transformational leadership. They also highlight the importance of authentic leadership and how it adds to transformational leadership in terms of predicting athletes’ commitment and enjoyment.     

Predicting first intercourse among urban early adolescent girls: The role of emotions

Little is known about how girls perceive their ongoing or future sexual experiences, especially the emotions that they associate with these experiences. This study examined how early adolescent girls characterise first intercourse experiences in terms of positive and negative emotions over a one-year period. A US sample of 162 girls (12–14 years), primarily Latina and Black, completed two interviews one year apart that assessed sexual cognitions, affect, and behaviour. Girls anticipated primarily negative emotions associated with first intercourse, but recalled primarily positive emotions for first and recent intercourse experiences. In addition, girls’ emotion scores proved more useful than two types of cognitions (intentions and perceived readiness) and pre-intercourse sexual experience in predicting transitions to intercourse over the one-year period.     

Advancing a grounded theory of parental support in competitive girls’ golf

Parental support in youth sport has been associated with positive athlete outcomes, such as sport enjoyment and continued participation. Although research has demonstrated the significant and influential role parents fulfil in the youth sport context, there remains a dearth of theoretical frameworks detailing parental support in youth sport and an absence of empirical research examining parental support across athlete development stages and sports. The present study sought to examine athletes’ perceptions of parental support, with a view to advancing a grounded theory of parental support in youth golf. Fourteen online synchronous focus groups were conducted with an international sample (Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland) of 61 girls, in the specialising (n = 27) and investment stages (n = 34) of athlete development. Data were analysed in three phases: open-coding, axial coding, and theoretical integration. The substantive grounded theory is constructed on the core category of ‘Individual Parental Support Preferences’. This core category is underpinned by four sub-categories of parental support which were evident across development stages: instrumental, informational, emotional, and autonomy support, and is influenced by a host of athlete (e.g., athletes’ performance), parent (e.g., parents’ knowledge), and contextual characteristics (e.g., location). Unconditional parental support is an important aspect of emotional support, however the concept of adopting a person-first approach to sport parenting is novel. These results provide a rich and novel insight of parental support in girls’ golf, advancing a grounded theoretical understanding of parental support mechanisms in a youth sport context.     

Swedish youth football players’ attitudes towards moral decision in sport as predicted by the parent-initiated motivational climate

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine associations between late adolescent football players’ perceptions of the motivational climate – as initiated by mothers and fathers – and attitudes towards moral decision making in sports.DesignCross-sectional.MethodsParticipants were 213 Swedish football players (144 males, 67 females) aged 16–19 years who completed measures assessing perceived parent-initiated motivational climate (i.e., success-without-effort climate [SWEC]; worry conducive climate [WCC]; and learning/enjoyment climate [LEC]) and attitudes towards moral decision-making in sport (i.e., acceptance of cheating [AOC]; acceptance of gamesmanship [AOG] and keeping winning in proportion [KWIP]).ResultsCanonical correlations demonstrated moderate positive relations between parent-initiated − both mother and father − performance climates (WCC and SWEC) and AOC and AOG. Moreover, the relationship between mother and father-initiated learning/enjoyment climate (LEC) were shown to be moderately and positively associated with the prosocial attitude dimension of KWIP. Results also showed that a mother-initiated LEC and a mother-initiated SWEC were stronger predictors of the criterion variables (AOC, AOG, and KWIP) than equivalent father-initiated climate dimensions.ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of considering the relationship between parent-initiated climates − especially initiated by mothers − and the development of moral decision-making among youth football players.     

Coach Expectations and Athlete Lay Beliefs: Interactions When Predicting Adolescent Athletes’ Enjoyment and Intentions to Return

The purpose of this study was to explore how athlete lay beliefs and coach expectations for athletes’ capacity to change interact when predicting enjoyment and intentions to continue in sport. Athletes (N = 202) and their 19 coaches completed surveys. Athletes with strong incremental (i.e., growth) mind-sets reported more enjoyment from affiliation and expending effort. Athletes with strong entity (i.e., fixed) mind-sets reported lower enjoyment from self-improvement, affiliation, and excitement. Regarding interactions, although athletes reported lower intentions and self-improvement enjoyment when a coach believed they had little likelihood of developing, these associations were attenuated for athletes with strong incremental mind-sets.