SECTION IV - PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SPORT AND EXERCISE / RESEARCH PAPER
Interaction between Perceived Autonomy Support and Sports Engagement of Athletes: A Cross Lag Regression Analysis
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1
Department of Sport and Health, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, China.
 
2
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Human Sports Performance Science, Guangzhou, China.
 
These authors had equal contribution to this work
 
 
Submission date: 2024-08-30
 
 
Final revision date: 2025-02-07
 
 
Acceptance date: 2025-03-17
 
 
Online publication date: 2025-09-23
 
 
Corresponding author
Zhou Yu   

Department of Leisure and Digital Sports, Guangzhou Sport University, 广州市天河区, 510500, Guangzhou, China
 
 
 
KEYWORDS
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ABSTRACT
To examine the relationship between perceived autonomy support and sports engagement among athletes, this study conducted a 6-month follow-up with 79 provincial team athletes, assessed over three time periods. The results were analyzed using latent variable growth models and cross-lagged regression analysis. The findings indicated that: (1) both perceived autonomy support and sports engagement exhibited a linear decline across the three measurement periods; (2) perceived autonomy support significantly predicted subsequent sports engagement, and sports engagement, in turn, significantly predicted later perceived autonomy support. However, in terms of stability, perceived autonomy support was a more consistent predictor of sports engagement. In summary, these findings reveal the dynamic interaction between athletes' perceived autonomy support and sports engagement, highlighting the crucial role of coaches' autonomy support in shaping athletes' engagement, as well as the reciprocal influence of athletes' engagement on the coaching style.
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