Kyle F. Paradis * and Todd M. Loughead **
(*) The University of Western Ontario,Canada
(**) University of Windsor
Citation
F. Paradis, K., M. Loughead, T. (2012). Examining the mediating role of cohesion between athlete leadership and athlete satisfaction in youth sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 43(2), 117-136. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2012.43.117
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine whether cohesion served as a mediator between athlete leadership and athlete satisfaction in youth sport. Participants were 205 competitive youth sport athletes ranging from 13-17 years old (Mage = 15.01 years, SD = 1.27). Participants completed the Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS; Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980), the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire (YSEQ; Eys, Loughead, Bray, & Carron, 2009), and the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ; Riemer & Chelladurai, 1998). Structural equation modelling was used to test for mediation. Overall the results indicated that task cohesion mediated the relationships between formal and informal task athlete leadership behaviours and task athlete satisfaction outcomes. Further it was found that social cohesion mediated the relationship between formal and informal social athlete leadership behaviours and social athlete satisfaction outcomes. Findings from the present study augment the group dynamics literature as theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Cohesion, Leadership, Satisfaction, Youth Sport