Examining the role of life skills in mediating the relationship between the basic psychological needs and subjective well-being of taekwondo student-athletes

Abstract

Various theories in the field of positive youth development (PYD) through sport argue that student athletes' satisfaction with basic psychological needs, life skills development, and well-being are closely related to each other. This study identified the structural relationship among three basic psychological needs, life skills, and subjective well-being. Korean Taekwondo student athletes (N = 302, Mage = 17.67, range = 17–19) completed a survey evaluating basic psychological needs (au-tonomy, competence, and relatedness), life skills (teamwork, goal setting, social skills, time man-agement, and leadership), and subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive/negative affect). Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlation, and the Structural Equation Model (SEM). The model’s goodness of fit was x2/df = 2.78, TLI = 0.90, CFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.077 (95% CI = 0.70, 0.80), and SRMR = 0.085. The three basic psychological needs were positively related to life skills and subjective well-being. In addition, life skills had a mediation effect between the three basic psychological needs and subjective well-being. The interpretation of the results indicated that life skills development and well-being depend on basic psychological needs. Thus, coaches should encourage a PYD climate to satisfy their athletes’ psychological needs.