Patterns of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Associated Outcomes Among NCAA Student-Athletes
A Longitudinal, Person-Oriented Investigation
Keywords:
LICUR method, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Self-determination theoryAbstract
Given the physical, psychological, and social demands National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes are confronted with in their sport participation, it is essential to understand the psychological conditions that allow them to cope with challenges, experience well-being, and perform at a high level. According to self-determination theory, the quality of individuals’ cognition, affect, and behavior is determined by the degree to which their three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are fulfilled. To date, research on basic psychological need satisfaction in sport has almost exclusively been conducted employing a variable-centered perspective. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate NCAA student-athletes’ perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness using a person-oriented Linking of Clusters after removal of a Residue (LICUR) approach. Data for this research was collected at two separate time points at the beginning of subsequent Fall (t1) and Spring (t2) academic semesters with a sample of N = 180 NCAA student-athletes from eight different sports. Using the LICUR method, similar patterns of need fulfillment were found at both time points denoting student-athletes with relatively ‘Low Need Satisfaction,’ ‘Moderately Low Need Satisfaction,’ ‘Moderate Need Satisfaction,’ and ‘High Need Satisfaction.’ These four patterns were structurally and individually stable from t1 to t2. Furthermore, there were significant differences in participants’ cluster affiliation based on their student grade level (p < .05), but not their competitive level. The findings offer a more nuanced understanding of student-athletes’ individual sport experiences.
References
Backhaus, K., Erichson, B., Plinke, W., & Weber, R. (2018). Multivariate Analysemethoden. Eine anwendungsorientierte Einführung. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Balaguer, I., Gonzalez, L., Fabra, P., Castillo, I., Merce, J., & Duda, J. L. (2012). Coaches’ interpersonal style, basic psychological needs and the well- and ill-being of young soccer players: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30, 1619-1629, https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.731517.
Bergman, L. R., Magnusson, D., & El-Khouri, B. M. (2003). Studying individual development in an interindividual context: A person-oriented approach. London, UK: Psychology Press.
Bergman, L. R., & Trost, K. (2006). The person-oriented versus the variable-oriented approach: Are they complementary, opposites, or exploring different worlds? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52, 601–632, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23096208.
Cece, V., Lienhart, N., Nicaise, V., Guillet-Descas, E., & Martinent, G. (2018). Longitudinal sport motivation among young athletes in intensive training settings: The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and thwarting in the profiles of motivation. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 40, 186-195, https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2017-0195.
Costa, S., Ntoumanis, N., & Bartholomew, K. J. (2015). Predicting the brighter and darker sides of interpersonal relationships: Does psychological need thwarting matter? Motivation and Emotion, 39, 11-24, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9427-0.
Eye, A., & Bogat, G. A. (2006). Person-oriented and variable-oriented research: Concepts, results, and development. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52, 390-420, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23096201.
Gillet, N., Berjot, S., & Gobance, L. (2009). A motivational model of performance in the sport domain. European Journal of Sport Science, 9, 151-158, https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390902736793.
Gomez, J., Bradley, J., & Conway, P. (2018). The challenges of a high-performance student athlete. Irish Educational Studies, 37, 329-349, https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2018.1484299.
Gould, D., & Whitley, M. A. (2009). Sources and consequences of athletic burnout among college athletes. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 2, 16-30.
Huml, M. R., Bergman, M. J., Newell, E. M., & Hancock, M. G. (2019). From the playing field to the classroom: The academic challenges for NCAA division I athletes. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 13, 97-115, https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2019.1578609.
Li, C., Wang, J. C. K., Pyun, D. Y., & Kee, Y. H. (2013). Burnout and its relations with basic psychological needs and motivation among athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 692-700, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.04.009.
Mack, D. E., Wilson, P. M., Oster, K. G., Kowalski, K. C., Crocker, P. R., & Sylvester, B. D. (2011). Well-being in volleyball players: Examining the contributions of independent and balanced psychological need satisfaction. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 12, 533-539, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.05.006.
Martinent, G., & Decret, J.-C. (2015). Motivational profiles among young table–tennis players in intensive training settings: A latent profile transition analysis. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 27, 268–287, https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2014.993485.
Morin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2015). Disentangling shape from level effects in person-centered analyses: An illustration based on university teachers’ multidimensional profiles of effectiveness. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 22, 39-59, https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2014.919825.
National Collegiate Athletic Association (2020). NCAA research examining student-athlete mental well-being: February 2020. [Unpublished presentation]. Indianapolis, IN: NCAA.
Ng, J. Y. Y., Londsdale, C., & Hodge, K. (2011). The basic needs satisfaction in sport scale (BNSSS): Instrument development and initial validity evidence. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 12, 257-264, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2010.10.006.
Ntoumanis, N., Edmunds, J., & Duda, J. L. (2009). Understanding the coping process from a self-determination theory perspective. British Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 249-260, https://doi.org/10.1348/135910708X349352
Raedeke, T. D., & Smith, A. L. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of an Athlete Burnout Measure. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 23, 281-306.
Rocchi, M., & Pelletier, L. G. (2017). The antecedents of coaches’ interpersonal behaviors: The role of the coaching context, coaches’ psychological needs, and coaches’ motivation. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychoogy, 39, 366-378, https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2016-0267.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Warburton, V. E., Wang, J. C., Bartholomew, K. J., Tuff, R. L., & Bishop, K. C. (2020). Need satisfaction and need frustration as distinct and potentially co-occuring constructs: Need profiles examined in physical education and sport. Motivation and Emotion, 44, 54-66, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09798-2.
Wolverton, B. (2008). Athletes’ hours renew debate over college sports. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54, 1.
Zibung, M., Zuber, C., & Conzelmann, A. (2016). The motor subsystem as a predictor of success in young football talents: a person-oriented study. PloS one, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161049.
Zuber, C., Zibung, M., & Conzelmann, A. (2016). Holistic patterns as an instrument for predicting the performance of promising young soccer players–A 3-years longitudinal study. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, https://doi.org/1.
