A Study on the Multiple Mediating Effects of Athletic Identity and Approach-Avoidance Motivation on Relations between Controlling Coach Behaviors and Athletic Burnout among Adolescent Athletes
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the mediating effects of athletic identity and approach-avoidance motivation on relations between controlling coach behaviors perceived by adolescent athletes and athletic burnout from the perspective of the Self-Determination Theory(Deci & Ryan, 1985). Methods: The subjects include 407 middle and high school athletes(boys=220, girls=187) attending an athletic or general middle and high school in the Seoul metropolitan region and Chungcheong Province. Collected data were put to the fitness test of the overall model and hypothesis test with SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0. Results: The findings were as follows: first, athletic identity turned out to have mediating effects on relations between controlling coaching behaviors and athletic burnout. Second, the mastery-approach and performance-avoidance of approach-avoidance motivation had mediating effects on relations between controlling coaching behaviors and athletic burnout. Finally, both athletic identity and the mastery-approach, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance of approach-avoidance motivation had mediating effects on relations between controlling coaching behaviors and athletic burnout. Conclusion: Those findings show that coaches' controlling coach behaviors induce negative athletic identity and avoidance motivation and thus facilitate athletic burnout.