On the Multi-Modal Psychological Experience of Competence in Youth Sport

Over the past half century, beliefs about athleticism (i.e., sport competence) have been thought of as central to motivation for youth sport. In this time, however, these competence beliefs have been narrowly studied which has limited their value in explaining youth sport participation. To expand our understanding of competence beliefs and their motivational significance in youth sport, the three studies of this dissertation tested a longstanding but understudied idea that competence beliefs encompass both judgments of, and emotions about, competence. In Study One, existing research on judgments of competence in youth sport was reviewed. This study showed that many personal and social factors are linked with judgments of competence in youth sport. In Study Two, the relationship between judgments of, and emotions about, competence in youth sport was investigated. This study showed that more positive judgments of competence were linked with more pleasant and less unpleasant emotions about competence in youth sport. In Study Three, young people's judgments of, and emotions about, competence were tied to participation outcomes in youth sport. This study found that judgments of, and emotions about, competence were more closely tied to present than future participation outcomes in youth sport. Together, these studies highlight the value of treating competence beliefs as consisting of both judgments of, and emotions about, competence.