It is time to consider athletes’ well-being and performance satisfaction: The roles of authentic leadership and psychological capital

Highlights

•	Athletes were recruited to determine how their development states are influenced by head coaches’ authentic leadership.
•	Head coaches’ authentic behaviors exerted no direct effects on athletes’ performance satisfaction and psychological well-being.
•	Psychological capital (PsyCap) positively influenced performance satisfaction and psychological well-being.
•	A moderating effect of student development was found between authentic leadership and PsyCap.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among coaches’ authentic leadership and athletes’ psychological capital (PsyCap), performance satisfaction, and psychological well-being. The authors recruited 224 athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics in the United States. The results indicated that the authentic leadership of the head coaches positively influenced the athletes’ PsyCap levels. The enhanced PsyCap, in turn, positively influenced both performance satisfaction and psychological well-being. The interaction effect of student development was found in the relationship between authentic leadership and PsyCap. The findings contribute to an improved understanding of a head coach’s authentic behaviors in sport teams, and also illuminate how athletes’ performance satisfaction and psychological well-being can be augmented by PsyCap enhancement.

Keywords:

• Authentic leadership
• Psychological capital
• Performance satisfaction
• Psychological well-being
• Intercollegiate sports