The influence of dispositional and situational tendencies on adolescent girls' sport confidence sources

Objectives: To examine the influence of female athletes' goal orientations and perceptions of motivational climate on sources of sport confidence. We hypothesized that task orientation and perceptions of mastery climate would be positively associated with adaptive or self-referenced sources of sport confidence. Ego orientation and perceptions of performance climate were expected to be positively associated with maladaptive or normative sources of confidence. Design: A field correlational study design was used to examine the relationships among goal orientations, motivational climate, and sport confidence sources, and to test both mediator and moderator effects of motivational climate on the relationship between goal orientations and sport confidence sources. Method: Participants were 180 competitive female volleyball players aged 12-18 years. Athletes completed three questionnaires assessing goal orientations, perceptions of motivational climate, and sources of sport confidence. Results: Task orientation and perceptions of mastery climate were positively associated with adaptive sources of sport confidence as well as social/environmental sources. Ego orientation was positively associated with maladaptive sources of confidence. Perceptions of mastery climate supported a mediational rather than a moderational role for motivational climate in predicting the social support and coach's leadership sources of sport confidence. Conclusion: The significant mediating influence of a mastery climate established by the coach provides important implications for coaches who want to build self-confidence in adolescent female athletes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.