How team socialization processes relate to youth ice hockey players’ social identity strength and cohesion.

Abstract

How new members are integrated into a particular group environment—also known as organizational socialization processes—have been shown to be a powerful predictor of newcomer adjustment in the workplace. Yet, there is a scarcity of research on how sport teams manage the integration of new team members, and the consequences of different tactics. The current research evaluated how socialization processes are associated with youth athletes’ perceptions of their group environment. Across two time points, 202 competitive adolescent ice hockey players from 15 teams (Mage = 14.47, SD = 1.22, 54 females) completed measures of team socialization processes, social identity strength, and cohesion. Athletes’ perceptions of team socialization processes (T1) were positively associated with social identity (T1 and T2) and cohesion (T1 and T2). Mediation analyses revealed that coach-initiated role communication tactics were positively associated with social identity change that, in turn, corresponded to higher levels of social and task cohesion. The results suggest that the processes surrounding the integration of new members may be a key lever for managing the social environment for athletes in youth sport.

Social identity in sport: A scoping review of the performance hypothesis

“…Bruner et al (2015) found that teams and individuals that had higher perceptions of outcome interdependence reported greater identification with the team. Finally, mediation analysis supported that coachinitiated role communication tactics related to changes in social identity strength which, in turn, was associated with higher levels of task and social cohesion (Chamberlain et al, 2021).…”

“…Teamwork, Group Dynamics, and Cohesion. Nine studies provided evidence to support the positive relationship between social identity and teamwork, group dynamics, or cohesion (Bruner et al, 2015(Bruner et al, , 2021Campo et al, 2022;Chamberlain et al, 2021;DeBacker et al, 2011;DeBacker et al, 2022;Fransen et al, 2020;Worley et al, 2020). Both Worley et al (2020) and DeBacker and colleagues (2022) found a significant relationship between social identity and cohesion (β = .92 and r = .69, respectively).…”

“…This suggests that the authors believe social identity should be captured from a self-investment perspective . Furthermore, five studies used the global score of social identity (Bruner et al, 2021;Chamberlain et al, 2021;Fransen et al, 2020;Murray et al, 2022;Worley et al, 2020), while three studies used the separate dimensions of social identity (Campo et al, 2022;Martin et al, 2018;Rodrigues et al, 2019). In addition, one study (Bruner et al, 2022) used a three-item measure that had one-item from the SIQS for each dimension of social identity.…”

Challenges and countermeasures of China’s research on “sports promoting adolescent socialization”–data mining based on Weibo and CNKI

“…Research shows that sports can promote the establishment of young people’s values. Being constrained by various rules in sports participation can also promote the formation of social behavior norms, which is conducive to the formation of social and cultural values ( Chamberlain et al, 2021 ). The traditional form of school sports organization no longer promotes the socialization of young people.…”

Importancia de la cohesión grupal sobre la persistencia en el equipo para la siguiente temporada: Un estudio longitudinal con jugadores senior y en formación de deportes de equipo

“…De esta forma, estas interacciones que se producen dentro de un equipo deportivo se inician desde los primeros días de temporada (Carron & Eys, 2012;Coleman et al, 2021), considerándose a este inicio como un proceso fundamental para confeccionar un correcto funcionamiento colectivo (Benson & Eys, 2017;Chamberlain et al, 2021) y para generar un sentimiento de persistencia entre los jugadores que forman parte del equipo (Chamberlain et al, 2021;Schwartz, 1973). Para relacionar la cohesión grupal con la persistencia en el equipo, existen estudios centrados en la adherencia deportiva.…”