Conflict among athletes and their coaches: what is the theory and research so far?

Abstract

4Although social and personal relationships are vital for productivity, health and wellbeing, 5 conflict is inevitable and is likely to cause upset and hurt feelings as well as anxiety and 6 distrust (e.g., Jowett, 2003). Despite the potentially central role of interpersonal conflict in 7 sport, researchers have yet to pay concerted attention to exploring the nature of conflict, its 8 antecedents and consequences. Following a thorough literature search 80 research papers 9were identified, of which only a small number (6) studied interpersonal conflict directly, most 10 captured dysfunctional interpersonal processes such as breakdown of communication. The 11 current review aims to provide a critical summary of the existing literature around the 12 psychological construct of interpersonal conflict, including its antecedents, management 13 strategies and outcomes within the context of coach-athlete relationships as well as other 14 relational contexts in sport. Based on the relevant literature, a framework of interpersonal 15 conflict is proposed, which includes a specific focus on a key dyad within sport coaching -16 namely the coach-athlete dyad. Future research directions and potential practical implications 17 for sport psychology consultants, coach educators, coaches and athletes as well as other 18 stakeholders are discussed. In high level sports where the stakes are high, outcomes unpredictable, and emotions 26 heightened, effective communication and appropriate behaviour may become challenging and 27 conflict can be provoked. Sport offers potential for conflict that can transpire as parental 28 over-or under-involvement in their child/athlete's participation, administrators' excessive 29 expectations of coaches, disagreements about team selection, power struggles between 30 teammates or athletes and their coaches, disagreements about training procedures (e.g., 31workload, goals, techniques) or even coaches' interferences in athletes' personal life (e.g., 32lifestyle, significant others). 33Despite its prevalence, it is surprising how little we know about interpersonal conflict 34 within sport. Sport psychology has paid considerable attention to understanding the 35 interpersonal dynamics between coaches and athletes or members through theoretical models 36 involving coach and athlete leadership (e.g., Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980; Fransen, 37 Vanbeselaere, De Cuyper, Vande Broek, & Boen, 2014), coaches' behaviours (Mageau & 38 Vallerand, 2003;Smoll & Smith, 1989), coach-athlete relationship (Jowett & Felton, 2014), 39 communication/relationship strategies (Rhind & Jowett, 2010), collective efficacy (Short, 40 Sullivan, & Feltz, 2005), and team cohesion (Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985). 41Nonetheless, there is dearth of research that explores interpersonal conflict among coaches, 42 athletes and teammates. Subsequently, this scoping review aims to examine the extant 43 literature with two central aims: a) to forward a definition of interpersonal conflict in sport 44 and b) to propose a conc...

On understanding the nature of interpersonal conflict between coaches and athletes

“…(p. 1281). Such an approach aligns with the present study as it aimed to corroborate and further extend the conceptual framework of conflict in sport relationships (Wachsmuth et al, 2017). This framework provided a rudimentary coding scheme for data analyses.…”

“…Accordingly, an established stream of research into a) coach-athlete relationships (e.g., Jowett, 2003Jowett, , 2008Jowett, , 2009 as well as b) interpersonal conflict (e.g., Barki & Hartwick, 2004;Wachsmuth et al, 2017) provided the theoretical foundations for the design of the current study. Additionally, data was collected from diverse participants (e.g., coaches/athletes; team/individual sport) with experience in the area of inquiry (i.e., conflict).…”

“…Following a review of the literature, Wachsmuth, Jowett, and Harwood (2017) define interpersonal conflict in sport as "a situation in which relationship partners perceive a disagreement about, for example, values, needs, opinions or objectives that is manifested through negative cognitive, affective and behavioural reactions" (p. 88). This definition is accompanied by a conceptual framework of interpersonal conflict in sport (see Figure 1).…”

“…According to the framework, it is also proposed that the nature of conflict and conflict management attempts directly predict the conflict outcomes (e.g., performance, relationship, wellbeing). This theoretically driven conceptualization of interpersonal conflict in sports was put forward with the intent to provide the impetus necessary to stimulate research into this unexplored area within sport (Wachsmuth et al, 2017). While there is limited evidence on the determinants and outcomes of conflict (e.g., Mellalieu et al, 2013), empirical information about the nature of interpersonal conflict in sport barely exists.…”

The Effects of the Coach-Athlete Working Alliance on Affect and Burnout Among High Level Coaches

“…Importantly, a coach-athlete relationship characterized by poor communication and bad relationship quality might ultimately result in interpersonal conflicts (Wachsmuth, Jowett, Harwood, 2017). An interpersonal conflict is a state of imbalance, incongruence, and incompatibility between a coach and an athlete (Hinde, 1997), and involves disagreements and negative emotions (Galtung, 1996;Putnam, Poole, 1987;Thomas, 1992;Wall, Callister, 1995).…”