Research summary · Youth development
Youth athletes' enjoyment and stress relate to both parent and coach climates
A survey of 347 adolescent athletes, 64.6% female and averaging 12.5 years old, assessed perceived parent and coach motivational climates together with goal orientation, enjoyment and stress. Latent profile analysis identified five combinations of mastery-focused and performance-focused environments.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Cross-sectional questionnaire study with latent profile analysis
- Journal
- Psychology of Sport and Exercise
- Population / context
- Youth sport · Multiple sports · Parents and coaches
What the publication reports
Predominantly mastery-focused profiles were associated with greater task orientation and enjoyment and lower stress. Predominantly performance-focused profiles showed less favourable experiences. Athletes reporting strong mastery and performance emphases together showed both positive and negative features, including high enjoyment alongside high stress. This complicates a simple good-versus-bad climate distinction.
Limits and interpretation
All variables were athlete-reported at one time point, so common-method bias and reverse explanations remain possible. The profiles are statistical descriptions, not fixed types of family or coach. The study cannot show that changing a parent's or coach's behaviour will necessarily cause improved well-being or sustained participation.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Conjointly-created parent and coach motivational climate profiles: Adolescent athletes' goal orientations, enjoyment, and stress.
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42419608DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103216Reader discussion
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