Achievement goals and sportsmanlike attitudes in young soccer players and its association with perceived pressure from significant social agents

The purposes of this study were to characterize the achievement goals and sportsmanlike attitudes in young soccer players and their association with perceived pressure from different significant social agents (parents/family, coaches, teammates and friends). The sample of the study was comprised of 118 young soccer players, aged between 11 and 19 years (M= 14.68, SD= 2.16). Athletes had 5.40 ± 2.39 years of sport experience and 71 (60.2%) of the athletes had competed at a regional level, while 47 (39.8%) had participated in national competitions. Participants completed a socio-demographic survey, the Task and Ego Orientation in Sports Questionnaire and the Sports Values Questionnaire. The statistical analyses involved univariate normality and descriptive, comparative and correlational analyses. Results revealed that task orientation was positively correlated with sportsmanlike attitudes (r= 0.47, p<0.01) and negatively associated with unsportsmanlike attitudes (r= −0.46, p<0.01), whereas ego orientation effects were contrary (sportsmanlike attitudes: r= −0.33, p<0.01 and unsportsmanlike attitudes: r= 0.42, p<0.01). Perceived pressures from all significant social agents were positively and significantly associated with unsportsmanlike attitudes (p<0.05), with perceived pressure from coaches also being associated with higher ego orientation scores and with lower task orientation and sportsmanlike attitudes in young soccer players. In summary, these results indicate the need for coaches and other social agents to promote a competition climate that reinforces self-referenced improvements and the expression of positive social attitudes in sports contexts.