Compromiso e intención de abandono en adolescentes de selecciones nacionales argentinas: el papel de los agentes sociales y efectos del género

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. This research aims to examine the predictive power of perceived interpersonal styles of coaches, fathers and mothers on engagement and intentions to drop-out of Argentinean high-performance adolescent athletes considering the role of gender in this relationship. Method. A total of 234 adolescents aged 12-16 years (M = 14.48, SD = 1.09) selected for the Youth Olympic Games -Buenos Aires 2018- participated in the study, who answered questionnaires assessing the variables of interest. Results. Males perceived higher levels of engagement than females, and females perceived higher autonomy support from the mother. Coaches’ autonomy support had greater predictive power on males’ engagement and females’ intentions to drop-out sport. In both genders, the effect of coach autonomy support was greater than parents. Conclusions. These results show the importance of significant others in sport participation and contribute to the knowledge of factors that may foster positive development in high-performance adolescence athletes.