Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
5-2023
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5460-0003
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Psychology
Degree Name
Master of Science
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
David Mosher
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Cherisse Flanagan
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
David McAnulty
Abstract
Personal growth initiative (PGI) is an intrinsically motivated engagement in growth processes that contribute to their ability to excel in sporting performance (Robitschek, 1998), and PGI may also predict their grit as well. Like PGI, team cohesion influences both performance and well-being in athletes, and little research has explored how spiritually oriented coaching influences team cohesion. This study explored PGI, grit, competition anxiety, intrinsic motivation, and the impact of spiritual involvement in sports on team cohesion. A sample (N = 45) of collegiate athletes at private Christian universities completed self-report measures in a survey. PGI was not a significant predictor of grit. While PGI was negatively correlated with competition anxiety (r = -.41) and positively correlated with sport satisfaction (r = .41), a moderation analysis showed no presence of PGI moderating the relationship between competition anxiety and sport satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation predicted about 16.8% of the variance in PGI. Spiritually oriented coaching and team activities did not predict team cohesion. I discuss implications of the findings and future directions for research.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Taylor, "The Effects of Personal Growth Initiative, Grit, and Spirituality on Competition Anxiety in Student Athletes" (2023). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 597.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/597