No description available.

Syfte Syftet med detta arbete var att ur före detta tävlings-fäktares perspektiv undersöka orsakerna bakom de omfattande avhopp som sker i övergången mellan ungdoms- och seniorklass i svensk fäktning, samt vad föreningar och förbund kunnat göra för att motverka dessa avhopp. Studien syftar även till att undersöka vilka åtgärder föreningar och förbund kan göra för att främja återupptagandet av tävlande enligt före detta tävlings-fäktare. Vilka orsaker ser före detta värj-fäktande ungdomar till varför de slutade tävla? Vilka åtgärder kunde föreningar och förbund vidtagit enligt före detta värjfäktare för att förhindra deras avhopp ifrån tävlande som ungdomar? Vilka åtgärder kan enligt före detta värjfäktare föreningar och förbund vidta för att främja återupptagande av tävlande? Metod Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är motivationsteorin self-determination theory (SDT) och är genomförd med en kvalitativ ansats. Sex semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med före detta fäktare. Intervjuerna har analyserats med tematisk innehållsanalys. Resultat Respondenterna upplevde ett kompetensbekräftande genom tävlandet samt en stark känsla av tillhörighet och när dessa faktorer försvann eller minskade i omfattning ledde det till avhopp. Vidare framkom att avhoppen hade kunnat förhindrats. Därutöver framkom att fäktarna kan ställa sig positiva till att återuppta tävlandet som motionärer ifall det skulle finnas en attraktiv breddverksamhet vad gäller både tävlingar och träningar. I ett återupptagande av tävlandet hade det sociala sammanhanget varit högt prioriterat men också möjligheten att få mäta sig mot fäktare på liknande nivå som de själva i anpassade tävlingsformer. Slutsats Det fanns ett starkt samband mellan avhoppen och att de psykologiska behoven upphörde att uppfyllas av deltagande i sporten. Svensk fäktning kunde under ungdomsåren starkt uppfylla behoven kopplade till att känna samhörighet och kompetens och även i viss mån autonomi men misslyckades med att tillgodogöra de grundläggande psykologiska behoven när fäktarna blev äldre. Vidare visar detta vikten av att föreningar och förbund arbetar aktivt med att tillgodose de grundläggande psykologiska behoven för motivation ifall avhoppen ska minskas och för att främja till återupptagandet av tävlande. / Aim The aim of this study was to investigate, from the perspective of former competitive fencers, the reasons behind the high level of drop outs that occur in the transition between youth and senior levels in Sweden, as well as what clubs and federations could have done to counteract these drop outs. The study also aimed to investigate what measures clubs and federations can take to promote the resumption of competing according to former competitive fencers. - What reasons do former épée fencing youths give as why they stopped competing? - According to former épée fencers, what measures could clubs and federations have taken to prevent youth drop out? - According to former épée fencers, what measures can clubs and federations take to promote the resumption of competing? Method The study's theoretical framework was the self-determination theory (SDT) and the research body was qualitative. Six semi-structured interviews have been conducted with former fencers. The interviews have been analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results The results showed that the former fencers had experienced a confirmation of competence through competitions, as well as a strong sense of belonging to their teammates and friends in the sport. When these factors disappeared or decreased, it led to drop outs. It also emerged that these drop outs could have been prevented. In addition, it emerged that the fencers are positive about resuming competition recreationally if there is an wide range of activities in terms of both competitions and training targeted at recreational fencers. For the resumption of competing, social context has been identified as a high priority. Another high priority is the opportunity to compete against fencers of a similar level to themselves in adapted forms of competition. Conclusions There was a strong correlation between the drop out of youth fencers and their psychological needs not being fulfilled in the sport. During childhood of the respondents, participation in fencing strongly fulfilled the need for a sense of belonging and feeling of competence, and to a certain extent autonomy. Fencing in Sweden however failed to provide this as the fencers got older. Furthermore, if drop outs are to be reduced and the competing is to be resumed, the study demonstrates the importance of clubs and confederations working actively to meet the psychological needs of the athletes.

Le présent projet avait comme objectif d’évaluer, chez des adolescents participant à une équipe sportive, si l’accompagnement d’un entraîneur humaniste formé par l’organisme Pour 3 Points (P3P) était associé à des niveaux d’anxiété sociale et généralisée inférieurs comparativement à l’accompagnement par un entraîneur n’ayant pas été formé par cet organisme. À partir des études faites au Québec sur l’organisme de P3P, il était attendu que les adolescents encadrés par un entraîneur humaniste auraient moins de symptômes d’anxiété sociale et/ou d’anxiété généralisée que les adolescents encadrés par un entraîneur « régulier ». Cette hypothèse a été testée auprès d’un échantillon (n = 144) constitué d’adolescents entre 12 et 17 ans (m = 14,404, ÉT = 1,611) issus de 15 équipes sportives provenant de milieux scolaires et communautaires de la grande région de Montréal. Ces adolescents étaient répartis en deux groupes, soit les adolescents encadrés par un entraîneur formé par P3P (n = 44) et les adolescents encadrés par un entraîneur régulier (n = 100). Des variables de contrôle, telles que le sexe, l’âge et l’indice de milieu socioéconomique ont été ajoutés aux analyses ANCOVA. Les résultats obtenus ne démontrent aucune différence significative entre le groupe P3P et le groupe non-P3P. Bien que l’hypothèse de recherche n’ait pas été confirmée, il demeure pertinent d’étudier le rôle des entraîneurs sportifs relativement aux symptômes anxieux des adolescents athlètes qu’ils accompagnent. Aucune étude ne s’était penchée sur l’impact potentiel associé au fait d’être encadré par un entraîneur humaniste sur les comportements intériorisés des adolescents. Ainsi, cette étude permet d’ouvrir le sujet pour de futures recherches. / The objective of this project was to evaluate, in adolescents participating in a sports team, whether the accompaniment of a humanist trainer trained by the organization Pour 3 Points (P3P) was associated with lower levels of social and generalized anxiety in adolescents participating in a sports team compared to coaching by a coach whom P3P has not trained. Based on studies done in Quebec on the P3P organization on the subject, we expected that adolescents supervised by a humanist coach would have fewer symptoms of social anxiety and/or generalized anxiety than adolescents accompanied by a "regular" trainer. This hypothesis was tested with a sample (n = 144) of adolescents between 12 and 17 years old (M = 14.404, SD = 1.611) from 15 sports teams from school and community settings in greater Montreal. These adolescents were divided into two groups, adolescents supervised by a coach trained by P3P (n = 44) and adolescents supervised by a regular coach (n = 100). We conducted ANCOVA analyses that accounted for control variables, such as gender, age, and socioeconomic status. The results showed no significant difference between the intervention and comparison groups. Although the research hypothesis has not been confirmed, it remains relevant to study the role of sports coaches concerning athlete-adolescents' anxiety symptoms. No study had looked at the potential impact of being accompanied by a humanistic coach on the internalized behaviors of youth. Thus, this study opens up the subject for future research.

Youth sport is acknowledged as an ideal setting for promoting positive youth development. In particular, youth sport participation has been linked to life skills development and psychological well-being. The coaching climate has been proposed to play a role in facilitating such positive outcomes. Nonetheless, few measures exist to examine life skills development through sport and it is unclear how positive youth development may be facilitated by the coach. Using existing and newly developed measures, this thesis examined how the coaching climate is related to life skills development and psychological well-being in youth sport participants. Phase 1 of this programme of research investigated Benson and Saito’s (2001) conceptual framework for youth development theory and research within sport. Study 1 examined a model whereby the coaching climate is related to life skills development (personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative); which, in turn, is related to participants’ psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Data from 202 youth sport participants suggested that an autonomy supportive coaching climate was positively related to all four life skills. Further analysis revealed that the development of personal and social skills mediated the relationships between coach autonomy support and all three indices of psychological well-being. However, the validity of the scale used to measure life skills was brought into question during this study. Therefore, the studies which follow developed and validated a new scale which could accurately assess eight key life skills young people learn through sport. Phase 2 of this programme of research involved developing and validating a scale which measures life skills development through sport. Study 2 outlines the initial development of a scale which would assess whether young people learn the following life skills through sport: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. This study involved defining each of the eight life skills, deciding what components made up each life skill and developing items which could assess each life skill. The initial item pool was reviewed by 39 academics, with between two and seven experts assessing the items for each of the eight life skills. Using the ratings and comments provided by experts, the first version of the Life Skills Scale for Sport (LSSS) was developed. Study 3 reduced the number of items contained within the LSSS from 144 to 47 items using both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and descriptive statistics. For this task, 338 youth sport participants completed the LSSS. EFA results supported the unidimensional factor structure of each of the eight subscales. Each subscale also displayed adequate internal consistency reliability. Study 4 examined the factor structure of the LSSS using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with an independent sample of 223 youth sport participants. After the removal of four emotional skills items, seven of the eight subscales and the revised 43-item scale displayed adequate model fit. Results supported both the convergent and discriminant validity of the LSSS and each of the eight subscales displayed adequate internal consistency reliability. Study 5 assessed the test-retest reliability of the LSSS with an independent sample of 37 youth sport participants. Each participant completed the scale on two occasions which were two weeks apart. Results revealed that time 1 and time 2 scores were relatively unchanged over this two-week period, providing evidence of test-retest reliability. Phase 3 of this programme of research involved re-testing Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework. Study 6 retested the coaching climate – life skills development – psychological well-being model from Study 1 using the LSSS. Data from 326 youth sport participants suggested that an autonomy supportive coaching climate was positively related to young people learning teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. The total amount of life skills a young person developed through sport was positively related to their self-esteem, positive affect and satisfaction with life. Again, the factor structure and reliability of the scale was supported. The findings from this PhD research suggest that the coaching climate plays an important role in young peoples’ development through sport. Specifically, an autonomy supportive coaching climate was positively related to life skills development and psychological well-being in youth sport participants. This thesis also provides researchers with a valid and reliable measure of life skills development through sport. Future research using the LSSS should examine other factors (e.g., peer relationships) which may promote positive youth development through sport. Additionally, future studies can use the LSSS to examine the efficacy of existing programmes (e.g., the SUPER programme) which teach life skills through sport. Such research will help guide coaches and sports programmes efforts to promote positive youth development through sport.