Reciprocity of the relationship between role ambiguity and group cohesion in youth interdependent sport

Objectives

Based on the role episode model (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964), the purpose of this study was to examine the reciprocal relationship between role ambiguity (Beauchamp, Bray, Eys, & Carron, 2002) and group cohesion (Eys, Loughead, Bray, & Carron, 2009) in youth interdependent sport teams.

Design

Longitudinal research with self-reported questionnaires.

Methods

Participants (N = 162; 12-18 years of age; M = 15.00 years) took part in two testing sessions (midseason vs. late-season) designed to gather information on individual perceptions of role ambiguity and group cohesion.

Results

After statistically controlling for status, gender, and team membership, results demonstrated that perceptions of social cohesion at midseason positively predicted variations in perceptions of scope of responsibilities and role behaviors in defense between mid- and end of season.

Conclusions

The need to belong (fundamental human motivation) and the unbalanced gender composition of the sample could explain the salience of social cohesion in the cohesion-role ambiguity relationship within youth interdependent sport teams. Results underlined that a part of role construction within youth teams is based on the peer social relationships developed between teammates. Implications are identified for youth practice. Limitations and future directions are addressed.     

Group dynamics in Canadian recreational team sports later in life

As interest and participation in physical activity later in life increases, evidence is needed to inform the promotion, design, and delivery of community-based sport for older people. One important consideration is the dynamics of the group, which may influence experiences of team sport among aging populations. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore group dynamics concepts and perceived outcomes experienced by older adults involved in Canadian community-based recreational teams. Seventeen mid-life and older adults (M_age = 64.06, SD = 6.40) who previously participated in youth team sport and were currently involved in adult recreational team sport participated in semi-structured phone interviews. Results were organized into categories outlined in the conceptual framework for the study of sport teams (Eys et al., 2020). Issues specific to team dynamics experienced in older adulthood are highlighted and relate to competitiveness, sport specific skills/knowledge, competitive level, motivational climate, interdependence, team stability, group norms, roles, cohesion, leadership, social support, conflict, enjoyment, personal development, and social connections. Findings underscore the relevance of team dynamics in older adulthood and importance of understanding individual and environmental attributes in relation to group processes, structures, emergent states, and outcomes specific to sport for older adults. Directions for future research and practical implications to encourage greater involvement and sustained participation in team sport throughout the lifespan are discussed.     

Group cohesion and relatedness as predictors of self-determined motivation and burnout in adolescent female athletes

ObjectivesAthlete burnout is the result of a maladaptive sport experience that is influenced by the social context. A salient social contextual feature of youth sport is group cohesion. Cohesion may link with burnout through its association with relatedness and self-determined motivation. The current study was designed to test a model in which cohesion associates with burnout by way of relatedness and self-determined motivation.DesignCross-sectional survey-based study.MethodFemale youth soccer athletes (N = 276; M age = 14.9 years, SD = 1.3) completed measures of task and social cohesion, relatedness, self-determined motivation, and burnout.ResultsTask (β = 0.26) and social (β = 0.59) cohesion associated with perceptions of relatedness. In turn, relatedness positively linked with self-determined motivation (β = 0.38), which in turn negatively associated with global burnout (β = −0.79). The indirect effects from task cohesion to burnout (β = −0.08) and from social cohesion to burnout (β = −0.18) by way of relatedness and self-determined motivation were significant.ConclusionsResults support the proposed model whereby greater cohesion associates with an athlete’s feelings of relatedness, which links to more self-determined motivation and, consequently, lower burnout perceptions. Future research is needed to assess support for causality of these links and explore how contextual factors such as the teammate-created motivational climate contributes to group cohesion and relatedness perceptions within this burnout model.     

Peer-Initiated Motivational Climate and Group Cohesion in Youth Sport

The purpose of the present study was to examine the reciprocal relationship between peer-initiated motivational climate and group cohesion. Measures of peer climate and cohesion were completed across the first half of a competitive season. Controlling for early season perceptions of the dependent variables, hierarchical regression results from 189 participants revealed that early season ego-related climate negatively predicted task cohesion near midseason (p <.01), and task cohesion at early season positively predicted task-related climate at midseason (p <.01). The current study offers preliminary insight into the direction of the relationships between the two constructs in competitive youth sport.     

Social identity and prosocial and antisocial behavior in youth sport

ObjectivesTo examine (a) the effects of social identity on prosocial and antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents, and (b) whether any effects of social identity on prosocial and antisocial behavior were mediated by cohesion.DesignProspective, observational.MethodsMale and female youth–sport participants (N = 329; M_age = 15.88 years) completed questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of the season assessing three dimensions of social identity (cognitive centrality, ingroup ties, ingroup affect), cohesion (task, social) and prosocial and antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents.ResultsWith the exception of cognitive centrality (which was therefore not analyzed further), all measures of study variables proved reliable. Structural equation modeling indicated the following: Ingroup affect had a positive effect on prosocial teammate behavior, Task cohesion mediated a positive effect of ingroup ties on prosocial teammate behavior and a negative effect of ingroup ties and ingroup affect on antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents. Social cohesion mediated a positive effect of ingroup ties on antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents. Prosocial opponent behavior was not predicted by any dimension of social identity.ConclusionThe findings highlight that social identity may play a salient role in regulating prosocial and antisocial behavior in youth sport, and changes in cohesion may partially explain these effects.     

Ethnic diversity and cohesion in interdependent youth sport contexts

Team sports are a group environment in which individuals from various backgrounds often come together in pursuit of a common goal. Building on the findings of recent research that examined the effects of ethnic diversity in professional and intercollegiate sport contexts, we examined the association between ethnic diversity and youth athletes' perceptions of cohesion in interdependent sport teams (e.g., soccer), and tested ethnic identity as a moderator of this relationship. Multilevel analysis of data from 272 youth athletes nested within 24 teams revealed that ethnic diversity negatively predicted both task and social dimensions of cohesion, but ethnic identity did not emerge as a moderating variable. These findings are divergent from recent work that examined similar relationships in intercollegiate contexts. This highlights the complexity, and the importance, of examining the effects of ethnic diversity on team functioning-oriented variables at different levels of sport competition. Although replication studies are necessary to understand the reliability of the current findings, our study provides insight into the effects of ethnic diversity in youth sport and emphasizes pertinent developmental processes (e.g., identity formation) that scholars should take into consideration in future research.     

Personality in teams: Its relationship to social cohesion,task cohesion,and team performance

This study continued past research on the relationship between personality composition in teams and social cohesion and team performance (Barrick, Stewart, Neubert, & Mount, 1998). Results from the Barrick et al. sample (N = 50) were compared with data from two new samples, one comprising drilling teams in the US (N = 24), and the other comprising student teams in The Netherlands (N = 25). Furthermore, this study examined the relationship between personality composition and task cohesion, usually considered to be a stronger predictor of team performance than social cohesion. Results partly confirmed the relationships between personality composition, cohesion, and team performance that were found previously. Minimum levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness contributed positively to both task cohesion and team performance. High mean levels of extraversion and emotional stability contributed positively to social cohesion. Some results differed across the three samples, stressing the importance of task characteristics as a factor influencing relationships between team personality, team processes, and team performance. Although significant relationships were found between social cohesion, task cohesion, and performance, cohesion measures did not mediate relationships between personality composition and team performance.     

Transformational leadership and task cohesion in sport: The mediating role of intrateam communication

ObjectivesLittle is known about the mechanisms that might mediate the relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and follower outcomes in the sporting domain. The purpose of this study was to examine whether intrateam communication mediated the effects of transformational leadership behaviors on task cohesion.Design/MethodsA cross-sectional study of university level ultimate frisbee players (N = 199). Participants completed a measure assessing their perceptions of their captain's transformational leadership behaviors. Post-competition, participants completed measures assessing perceptions of intrateam communication and task cohesion within their own team.ResultsMultilevel analyses revealed intrateam communication to partially mediate the relationships between two of the transformational leadership behaviors and task cohesion.ConclusionsIntrateam communication is seen to be a mechanism that explains the relationship between transformational leadership and task cohesion. Overall, the results support and add to the range of positive effects associated with transformational leadership in sport, and are suggestive of interventions that may raise levels of team cohesion.     

The relationship between peer servant leadership,social identity,and team cohesion in intercollegiate athletics

Servant leadership is characterized by a leader’s emphasis on serving their followers first. Within the sport context, servant leadership has been studied primarily in coaches and has been associated with positive athlete outcomes, such as increased athlete satisfaction, motivation, and performance. However, the impact of servant leadership from an athlete perspective (e.g., formal team captains) has been underexplored. As such, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between peer servant leadership, cohesion, and social identity within intercollegiate athletes. Two hundred and eighty-eight Division I and Division III NCAA intercollegiate athletes participated in the present study (female n = 165; male n = 123; M_age = 19.41, SD_age = 1.09) and completed the Revised Servant Leadership Profile for Sport (RSLP-S; Hammermeister et al., 2008), Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron et al., 1985; Eys et al., 2007), and Social Identity Questionnaire for Sport (SIQS; Bruner & Benson, 2018). Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships between peer servant leadership, cohesion, and social identity. Results revealed that peer servant leadership positively predicted cohesion, and this relationship was fully mediated by social identity. The current study supports the effectiveness of peer servant leadership in sport contexts and provides theoretical support for the social identity approach to leadership.     

The role of team and sport social contexts: Are three-level models needed in studies of sport conduct?

In this work, I examined how variation in sport conduct is allocated across the three different levels (i.e., athlete, team, and sport) in order to consider how the team and sport environment might contribute to athletes' sport conduct. Specifically, three-level models were utilized for sportspersonship, technical and mental gamesmanship, and instrumental aggression to examine whether there is unique variance due to sport and team clustering with athletes (N = 1412) nested within teams (J = 92) that are in turn nested within sports (K = 17). Results showed that clustering due to sport accounted for unique variance above and beyond team clustering. However, sex and invasion team sport explained most of the sport-level variance. The implication is that it is important to account for the sport clustering. However, when accounting for the sport-level clustering is not feasible, controlling for sex is necessary at the very least.     

Intrinsic motivation and individual deliberate practice are reciprocally related: Evidence from a longitudinal study of adolescent team sport athletes

ObjectiveThere is limited understanding of how sport motivation is associated with deliberate practice in youth team sport athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine prospective associations between intrinsic motivation and individual deliberate practice in specializing team sport athletes.DesignLongitudinal.MethodEstonian adolescent team sport athletes (N = 163; M_age – 13.6 years at the beginning of study) completed the Sport Motivation Scale and training diary across a 12-month period.ResultsBoth individual deliberate practice and intrinsic motivation increased over the 1-year period. Greater baseline intrinsic motivation predicted subsequent individual deliberate practice and greater initial individual deliberate practice predicted greater subsequent intrinsic motivation. The bidirectional relationship between athletes intrinsic motivation and individual deliberate practice were replicated across both time lags.ConclusionThe findings have significant implications for the importance placed on intrinsic motivation as a means of increasing of individual deliberate practice as well being an important outcome variable in specializing team sport athletes.     

I'm worth more than you! Effects of reward interdependence on performance,cohesion, emotion and effort during team competition

ObjectivesTo examine the effects of reward structures on the performance of a motor task. To evaluate the effects of reward interdependence on performance, cohesion, emotion, and effort during intergroup (team) competition.DesignAn experimental design was used to compare the effects of reward interdependence (no, low, high) on performance of a strength and endurance task.MethodParticipants (N = 111) performed a 3-min handgrip task as a member of a team of four under three reward interdependence conditions (no; low, with an even split of prize money; high, with an uneven split of prize money) in head-to-head competitions against another team. Task performance was assessed using the cumulative force production total. Task-related cohesion, enjoyment, anxiety and effort were measured using self-report scales.ResultsPerformance was better with rewards than no reward, and better with high than low reward interdependence. Team cohesion was highest with low reward interdependence. Effort was greater with rewards than no reward. Anxiety and enjoyment did not vary among the reward conditions. Mediation analyses indicated that increased cohesion mediated improvements in performance from no reward to low reward interdependence conditions, and increased effort mediated improvements in performance from no reward to both low and high reward interdependence conditions.ConclusionPerformance of a simple physical task in team competition was facilitated by rewards, with optimal performance associated with unequal rewards (i.e., performance-related pay). The benefits of performing with rewards compared to no rewards were explained by increased cohesion and effort. Social interdependence theory can help explain performance of simple motor tasks during team-based competitions. The findings have implications for the pay structures adopted by sports teams.     

Youth sport participation and parental mental health

ObjectivesThe purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the relations of having a child involved in youth sport and primary (i.e., parent that knows the child best) and secondary parents' mental health.DesignParents from Wave 7 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children reported their child's involvement in organised youth sport and self-reported measures of mental health. A total of 3192 primary (M = 43.04 years, SD = 8.75), and 2794 secondary (M = 46.13 years, SD = 6.16) parents of adolescent children were enrolled in the study. To investigate differences by type of sport participation, sport participation was grouped into one of four categories: non-participation; individual sport only; team sport only; both team and individual sport. Measures of days per week and hours per day of participation were also used to examine the relationship between sport participation and parental mental health.ResultsParents with adolescents involved in organised sport reported more life stress, more time pressure, and less psychological distress than parents of non-athletes. Stronger effects appeared in primary parents in comparison to secondary parents.ConclusionThe findings suggest an important relationship with respect to having a child involved in organised sport and parents' mental health. We encourage future scholars to explore potential protective mechanisms' (e.g., opportunities to socialise) of having a child in youth sport for the benefit of parents' mental health.     

Profile of high-performing college soccer teams: An exploratory multi-level analysis

ObjectiveTo determine the profile of high-performing college soccer teams through the use of exploratory hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) based on a socio-cognitive approach.DesignA correlational design was employed in this study. The sample consisted of 340 college soccer players of both genders (178 female and 162 male), representing 17 different teams (8 female and 9 male) ranked in the top-32 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).MethodsNumerous demographic and soccer-related variables represented level-1 in the HLM model. Group Environment Questionnaire and Team Assessment Diagnostic Measure were entered as level-2 variables, representing cohesion and team mental models, respectively. Perceived performance potential (PPP) served as the dependent variable. Objective performance scores were correlated with PPP, attesting a moderate to high-level of criterion related validity (r = .78).ResultsThe final model suggested that: (a) International athletes perceive their performance lower than others, (b) different field positions share different covariance coefficients with PPP, and (c) perception of social cohesion from a group, rather than individual, standpoint is positively associated with perceptions of team performance.ConclusionsHigh performing teams have clearly defined task-related and team-related goals. Accordingly, social rather than task related factors may represent a competitive edge, further energizing the interactions and performance of top-ranked teams. International athletes perceive team performance lower than locals, perhaps due to differences in preferred game-style and acculturation experiences. Players from different field positions (i.e., goalkeepers, defensive, and offensive players) relate differently to team performance in college soccer.     

The moral disengagement in doping scale

Statement of problemThe use of banned substances to enhance performance occurs in sport. Therefore, developing valid and reliable instruments that can predict likelihood to use banned substances is important.MethodWe conducted three studies. In Study 1, football players (N = 506) and athletes from a variety of team sports (N = 398) completed the Moral Disengagement in Doping Scale (MDDS). In Study 2, team sport athletes (N = 232) completed the MDDS and questionnaires measuring moral disengagement in sport, doping attitudes, moral identity, antisocial sport behavior, situational doping temptation, and task and ego goal orientations. A week later, a subsample (n = 102) completed the MDDS and indicated their likelihood to use a banned substance in a hypothetical situation. In Study 3, athletes (N = 201) from a variety of individual sports completed the MDDS and indicated their likelihood to use a banned substance in a hypothetical situation.ResultsThe results of Study 1 showed that a one-factor model fitted the data well, and the scale had measurement invariance across males and females. In Study 2, we provided evidence for convergent, concurrent, discriminant, and predictive validity, as well as test-rest reliability, of the scale. In Study 3, doping moral disengagement was positively related with reported likelihood and temptation to use a banned substance. The scale exhibited very good internal consistency across the three studies.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the MDDS can be used to measure moral disengagement in doping in team and individual sports.     

Identity leadership and social identification within sport teams over a season: A social network analysis

ObjectivesThis study explored the relationships between identity leadership and social identification in sport teams over the course of a season using social network analysis.MethodsParticipants from 23 competitive sport teams (N = 388, M_age = 20.7 years) indicated the extent to which each of their teammates displayed various forms of identity leadership (i.e., identity prototypicality, identity advancement, identity entrepreneurship, identity impresarioship) and the extent to which these same teammates were seen to identify with the team (assessed by ingroup ties, cognitive centrality, ingroup affect) early and later in a season. Quadratic assignment procedure correlations and multiple quadratic assignment procedure regressions examined the relationships between the different types of networks for each team across time.ResultsAthletes who perceived team members to show greater identity leadership perceived those same teammates to identify more strongly with the team both early (rs_average > .46) and later (rs_average > 0.48) in the season. Averaged across teams, identity entrepreneurship early in the season was most strongly associated with both perceived ingroup ties (β_average = .24) and ingroup affect (β_average = 0.13) later in the season, while identity impresarioship was most strongly associated with cognitive centrality (β_average = .16). In the reversed direction, perceptions of ingroup ties early in the season were most strongly associated with all identity leadership dimensions later in the season (.28 < β_average < 0.38).ConclusionsCollectively, these findings provide evidence of a mutually reinforcing bidirectional link such that teammates who are seen as actively contributing to promote a sense of ‘us’ among team members are also more likely to be seen as identifying strongly with the team.     

Buying and building success: Perceptions of organizational strategies for improvement

What makes people like a team? We suggest and test here whether people’s perceptions of teams and organizations differ as a function of the strategy the teams pick on their way to success. Two main strategies are compared: (1) Development is a strategy focused on building and enhancing the abilities of current team members; and (2) Acquisition is a strategy focused on buying talent from outside the organization. Does the way to success matter? In other words, will the strategy a team endorse affects how much people like the team? In five studies (N = 1,672) we tested whether people prefer teams that were successful by being (a) built through long-term development of team members or (b) bought by acquiring expensive personal developed elsewhere. Across the five studies, people preferred built teams over bought teams, including sport teams and law firms. Effort and group cohesion were more attributed to build than to bought teams. In a “mediators contest,” effort attributions proved most robust. People like built teams more than bought ones, mostly because they value the effort and hard work that built teams represent.     

A dynamic view of coach transformational leadership: How leadership perceptions relate to task cohesion and team potency

We examined whether athletes’ perceptions of coach transformational leadership across time related to task cohesion and team potency beliefs. Across multiple time points, we collected 384 observations (M = 5.41 observations per athlete) from competitive youth athletes via a mobile application designed to examine team dynamics. Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed intraindividual variation in athletes’ evaluations of coach transformational leadership across time. Further, we observed robust support for a positive relation between perceptions of coach transformational leadership and task cohesion over time at both the between- and within-person levels. The relation between coach transformational leadership and team potency was significant at the between-person level, however, we did not find support for this relation at the within-person level. These results provide insight into how the ebb and flow of coach transformational leadership over time connects to team cohesion, highlighting the need for more intensive longitudinal designs that capture the dynamic nature of leadership.     

Social and motivational predictors of continued youth sport participation

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine if youth soccer players' perceived relationships with parents and peers in soccer, and the moderating associations among these social relationship variables, predict soccer continuation over and above motivation-related variables.DesignThis study used a prospective design by assessing youth soccer athletes' social relationships and motivational outcomes during one season and tracking the athletes' soccer continuation behavior one year later.MethodsContinuation behavior of travel soccer athletes (N = 148), ages 10–14 years (M = 11.7, SD = 1.0), was assessed one year after completing a questionnaire containing soccer-contextualized measures of perceived parent relationship quality, perceived friendship quality, perceived peer acceptance, perceived competence, enjoyment, stress, and self-determined motivation.ResultsLogistic regression analyses showed that greater perceived competence, more positive friendship quality, and the combination of mother relationship quality and peer relationships predict soccer continuation on the same team.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of close social relationships, and the combination of parent and peer relationships in particular, to sport continuation behavior.