Predicting moral attitudes and antisocial behavior in young team sport athletes: A self‐determination theory perspective

Abstract

Identifying the factors associated with prosocial and antisocial behaviors in youth sport may provide evidence to inform interventions aimed at promoting prosocial behaviors and minimizing rule transgressions in young athletes. We investigated relations among social‐contextual factors (e.g., social support), personal motivational factors (e.g., psychological need satisfaction and motivation), young athletes’ attitudes toward prosocial (e.g., keeping winning in proportion) and antisocial (e.g., acceptance of cheating and gamesmanship) behaviors, and their actual rule violations during matches in two samples of athletes. Participants in Sample 1 were young team sport athletes (N = 355) and participants in Sample 2 were young male futsal players (N = 296). Athletes in Sample 1 completed validated self‐report measures of perceived autonomy support, basic need satisfaction, and autonomous and controlled motivation from self‐determination theory, moral attitudes, and past cheating behaviors. Athletes in Sample 2 completed identical measures and two additional behavioral measures: athletes’ self‐reported number of yellow cards received during competition in the last 6 months and the number of yellow cards athletes received from referees in the subsequent 2 months from competition records. We found significant relations between psychological need satisfaction and self‐determined motivation, and athletes’ moral attitudes in both samples. These effects held when statistically controlling for past behavior. Importantly, our prospective analysis of Sample 2 indicated that attitudes toward antisocial behaviors predicted athletes’ rule violations during subsequent tournament matches. Findings indicate that promoting autonomous motivation and need satisfaction through autonomy support may foster attitudes toward prosocial behaviors, and minimize rule transgressions, in young athletes.

Perfectionism Profiles and Motivation to Exercise Based on Self-Determination Theory

“…In fact, it seems that "the presence of controlled motivation, next to either a high amount of autonomous motivation or a low amount of autonomous motivation, yields no benefits at all" [42] (p. 684). Controlled motivation (i.e., Introjected and External regulations) has been, indeed, associated with poorer wellbeing, healthy eating habits and behaviors, moral attitudes, experience, and performance outcomes in the context of sport and exercise (e.g., [15,19,20]). Consequently, Maladaptive Perfectionists would be more likely to experience a more damaging motivational orientation than Non-Perfectionists.…”

“…In addition, concerning moral attitudes and antisocial behavior, research has identified pervasive positive influences of autonomous motivation on keeping winning in perspective and a prosocial moral attitude. In contrast, positive effects of controlled motivation on acceptance of gamesmanship and cheating have been found [20].…”

Relationship between perfectionism and attitudes toward doping in young athletes: the mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation

“…The use of doping by athletes with a tendency toward autonomous motivation will violate these psychological needs because they would be engaging in acts that are contrary to their goals and values, gaining false abilities, and interfering with other athletes by fraudulent and unfair means to gain an advantage over their opponents [36]. It is suggested that psychological need satisfaction and self-determined motivation are significantly associated with young athletes' moral attitudes, and athletes' attitudes toward antisocial behaviors predict subsequent rule violations [37]. Therefore, athletes with a tendency toward autonomous motivation are less likely to adopt antisocial behaviors such as doping use.…”

Sports as a Mechanism for Reaching Your Potential: The Relationship between Positive Psychology and Sports

“…Mallia et al [18] researched two groups of athletes to determine if the factors of self-determination theory can predict antisocial behavior in young athletes. The The results found a relationship between psychological need satisfaction and self-determination motivation and athletes' moral attitudes in both samples.…”