Other-Initiated Motivational Climate and Youth Hockey Players’ Good and Poor Sport Behaviors

Abstract

This study's purpose was to simultaneously examine the relationships between perceived coach-, peer-, and parent-initiated motivational climate and youth hockey players’ good and poor sport behavior (GPSB). Participants (N = 243) represented PeeWee, Bantam, and Midget hockey levels (11–17 years old). Hierarchical regression showed that hockey players’ goal orientations, perceived ability, and other-initiated motivational climate explained 22.6% (PeeWee) and 18.5% (Bantam/Midget) of the variance in Poor Sport Behavior while explaining 27.1% (PeeWee) and 34.6% (Bantam/Midget) of the variance in good sport behavior. Results provide perspective for how influential the social environment is to both GPSBs in youth hockey.