Lori A. Gano-Overway

Exploring the Contribution of the Caring Climate to the Youth Sport Experience

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between young athletes’ perceptions of the caring climate on their soccer teams to their enjoyment, attitudes and, behaviors toward their coach and teammates, and commitment to the sport. Athletes (N = 184) in a community soccer league volunteered to complete a survey. Results revealed that athletes who perceived a caring climate on their teams were significantly more likely to report higher enjoyment, more positive attitudes towards their coaches/teammates, greater commitment to soccer, and engage in more caring behaviors towards their coaches/teammates. Results suggest that a caring climate may benefit young athletes.

Perceived Motivational Climate's Influence on Goal Orientations, Perceived Competence, and Practice Strategies across the Athletic Season

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of middle school student-athletes’ goal orientations, practice strategies, and perceived competence over time as a function of their perceptions of the motivational climate. One hundred twenty-four student-athletes completed a series of surveys three times over the course of their athletic seasons related to goal orientations, practice strategies, perceived athletic competence, and perceived motivational climate. Results indicated that when the perceived motivational climate was incompatible with their goal orientation, there was a significant shift in student-athletes’ goal orientation over time. Findings also indicated that perceptions of a task-involving climate positively predicted perceived competence and practice strategies at the end of the season after controlling for preseason values. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of developing a task-involving climate in the sport setting.

Exploring the Connections between Caring and Social Behaviors in Physical Education.

Purpose: This study explored the relationship between the caring climate, empathy, prosocial behaviors, and antisocial behaviors, like bullying, in physical education, plus investigated whether empathy mediated the possible relationships between caring and social behaviors for boys and girls. Method: Middle school physical education students (N = 528) completed measures assessing a caring climate, empathy, social behaviors, and bullying. Results: A partial mediation model was supported, χ2(94) = 206.82, p < .001, comparative fit index = .97, Tucker-Lewis index = .96, root mean square error of approximation = .05, standardized root mean squared residual = .04, which was also invariant across sexes. A perceived caring climate positively predicted prosocial behavior and cognitive empathy and negatively predicted antisocial behavior, like bullying. Cognitive empathy mediated the relationship between caring and prosocial behavior. Conclusions: Collective findings suggest that creating a caring climate is one tool that physical education teachers may use to promote positive behavior.

The effect of goal involvement on self‐regulatory processes

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the role that goal involvement may have in impacting aspects of self‐regulation under negative feedback conditions. In two separate experiments, athletes (N1 = 31; N2 = 37) were placed in either a task‐ or ego‐involving condition and engaged in three trials of a motor task in which they received negative feedback. At the end of the task, participants completed manipulation check items, a strategy use measure, and items representing self‐defeating thoughts. The achievement goal conditions and negative feedback were successfully manipulated. In the first experiment, a one‐way MANOVA revealed that those athletes receiving the task involvement induction used more self‐regulatory and self‐control strategies and fewer self‐defeating thoughts than participants under the ego involvement induction. In the second experiment, athletes in the task‐involving condition used more self‐regulatory strategies than those in the ego‐involving condition. These results suggested that focusing on task involvement might help athletes engage in more effective self‐regulatory processes.

Predicting occurrence of and responses to psychological difficulties: the interplay between achievement goals, perceived ability, and motivational climates among Korean athletes.

The present study investigated the interrelationship of goal orientations, perceived ability, and perceived motivational climate to the experience of stress, perceived controllability, and choice of coping strategies. A total of 404 Korean intercollegiate athletes participated in the study. The results from moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that the experience of psychological difficulties was positively predicted by a perceived ego-involving climate and negatively predicted by perceived ability. The perceived controllability over stress was highest among athletes who had higher levels of task and ego orientation in a more task-involving atmosphere. Athletes used more approach coping as they perceived a higher level of task orientation regardless the level of perceived ability, and when they indicated higher task orientation scores in a low ego-involving environment. The avoidance/withdrawal coping strategies were positively related to an ego-involving climate. The findings implied that an examination of cultural variations in motivational factors and coping process among sport participants in a different culture may further extend theoretical applicability across diverse populations.

Caring in the gym Reflections from middle school physical education teachers

Caring has been discussed as foundational to developing quality physical activity settings that promote social and personal responsibility and are synonymous with effective teaching practice in physical education. However, how physical educators practice caring in the gym is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how physical education teachers describe their experiences of caring in the classroom. Six middle school teachers, rated as caring by students, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Inductive content analysis was used to cluster the raw data quotes into thematic categories which were compared and contrasted to insure uniqueness among the emergent themes. Three overarching themes emerged focusing on 1) being in relation including lower order themes of developing relationships, encouraging/developing caring, and creating connections, 2) creating an inclusive and accepting environment including lower order themes of respecting and trusting students, creating a safe and accepting place, treating students fairly, and being inclusive, and 3) empowering students including lower order themes of supporting development, engaging in caring discipline, and promoting ownership. Results support previous work in the caring literature and further inform practitioners how to work toward developing caring within their own physical activity setting.

Exploring relationships between the coach-initiated motivational climate and psychological coping skills over the high school American football season

This study investigated the relationship between the perceived coach-initiated motivational climate and psychological coping skills over a competitive high school football season as well as changes in perceptions of the climate over the season. Near the beginning (Time 1) and end of the season (Time 2), 101 players from five competitive high school American football programs completed the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 and the Athletic Coping Skill Inventory-28. A hierarchical linear regression revealed that Time 2 task-involving climate predicted Time 2 psychological coping skills when controlling for Time 1 psychological coping skills. Repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance results demonstrated that players perceived a decrease in the task-involving climate and an increase in the ego-involving climate over the course of the competitive season. These results add to the research on the positive role of a task-involving climate in the sport domain. Additionally, this research provides insight into how perceptions of the coach-initiated motivational climate can shift over the course of the competitive season.

Setting the SCENE: Developing a caring youth sport environment

ABSTRACT Quality coaching practice has many intricacies. One important component is developing a caring sport environment, which has been shown to foster positive athlete-coach relationships, enhance motivation, promote positive youth development, and encourage sport commitment. The purpose of this article is to share a collection of strategies based on philosophical frameworks, i.e., the caring relation and ubuntu, insight from practitioners, and empirical work, to set the SCENE for developing a caring sport environment (i.e., supporting athletes, connecting with players, empowering athletes, nurturing care, and establishing a safe environment).