The coach-athlete dyad, basic psychological needs and perceptions of autonomy support climates in American collegiate athletics

The quality of relationship in the coach-athlete dyad (CAD) is critical for success and well-being. Unlike previous research, this study was the first to consider the largest sample of interdependent dyads to assess the coach-athlete dyad among American collegiate coaches and athletes where elite sport plays an important role in American culture and economics. Capturing the degree of congruence between coaches and their athletes in terms of the quality of the coach-athlete dyad (CAD), autonomy supportive climates (ASC), and basic psychological needs (BPN) is unique in the sport dyadic literature. This study examined components of the Integrated Research Model (IRM) as a way to better understand the extent to which coach-athlete interdependent perceptions influence psychological needs and perceptions of autonomy support environments. Participants were 124 interdependent CADs from a variety of individual and team sports who completed the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire, the Basic Satisfaction Needs in Relationship Scale, and the Sport Climate Questionnaire. Paired sample t-test indicated coaches reported higher perceptions of closeness, commitment, complementarity, and relatedness but lower need for autonomy than their athletes (p<.01). Coaches' perceptions of promoting autonomy support climates were significantly higher than athletes' perceptions of their coaches ability to do so (p<.01). After controlling for coach's age, stepwise regression analysis indicated coach experience (1%), coach-athlete discordance scores for closeness (35%), autonomy (9%), and commitment (3%) explained 48% of the variation in athletes' perceptions of ASCs, F (5, 123) = 22.01, p<.001. Multivariate multiple regression analyses indicated a significant main effect for athletes, Wilks lambda = 0.55, F (15, 321) =5.12, p<.001. Univariate regression analyses indicated closeness, F (3, 120) = 18.40, Adj. R2 = 0.30, p<.001; commitment F (3, 120) = 14.55, Adj.R2 = 0.25, p<.001; and complementarity F (3, 120) = 6.00, Adj.R2 = 0.11; p<.005 contributed significantly to the composite of the basic psychological needs scale. These findings highlight interactions between coaches and their athletes reflect their dyadic and interdependent perceptions of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, which correspond to views of ASCs coaches create. Future research should examine how these variables relate to athletes' performance, relationship stability, relationship satisfaction, and coaches quality of life.;Keywords: autonomy-supportive climates, basic psychological needs, coach-athlete dyad, integrated research model.