Thriving Through Relationships in Sport: The Role of the Parent–Athlete and Coach–Athlete Attachment Relationship

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Louise Davis¹  Daniel J. Brown²  Rachel Arnold³  Henrik Gustafsson⁴ 

[1] Department of Psychology, Umeå School of Sports Science, Umeå University;School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom;Department for Health, University of Bath, United Kingdom;Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Karlstad University;Department of Sport and Social Sciences, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

关键词: attachment styles;    competition;    performance;    well-being;    parents;    relationships;    coaches;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.694599

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The aim of this research was to examine whether attachment relationships to significant others, such as to parents and/or sports coaches, enable thriving and competition performance within sport. Two studies employing cross-sectional and prospective designs were carried out across different samples of athletes of varied skill levels and sports. In Study 1, we found athletes’ attachment to their sports coach was significantly associated with athlete thriving and mediated by psychological needs satisfaction. Results of Study 2 found that athletes’ secure attachment to their mother and/or father positively predicted the experience of thriving at the competition while athletes’ insecure attachment did not predict thriving. Furthermore, athletes’ attachment to both mother and father did not predict competition performance. Together, these two studies acknowledge the significant role that athletes’ secure attachment relationships with parents and coaches play in facilitating thriving in athletes. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.

【 授权许可】

CC BY