Self-control and aggressiveness as mediating factors between motivational orientations and sportspersonship

Abstract

In light of the increasing propensity toward unsportsmanlike behaviours that have caused the failure of the notion of fair play, this research tested a causal model of theoretically-predicted antecedents of sportspersonship, in which the two trait-related personality factors, self-control and aggressiveness, mediated the relationship between motivational orientations and sportspersonship. After examining the five-factor structure of the Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale in a first sample of Italian athletes (n = 371, Mage = 26.57), the resulting 20-item four-factor model proved to be satisfactory and reliable. In a second sample (n = 814, Mage = 25.96) the proposed empirically-based model confirmed the important role played by self-control in mediating the relationship between ego orientation, aggressiveness, and sportspersonship. In terms of practical implications, the findings provide a more comprehensive conceptualization of the factors that differentiate the inter-and intra-individual characteristics in sportspersonship, thus allowing practitioners to develop effective intervention programs addressed to athletes. of the MSOS and the proposed causal model. Besides this, the cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow for inferring causal relationships between the variables.Further studies could examine the conceptual meta-theory of the "I cube" model (Slotter and Finkel, 2011) by analysing the interaction between its three processes of instigation, inhibition, and impellance, in order to better understand the problem of unsportsmanlike behaviours at competitive levels.

The moderating role of sportsmanship and violent attitudes on social and personal responsibility in adolescents. A clustering-classification approach

“…Finally, a third profile reflected an apparent disinclination to doing sport which resulted in higher violent attitudes. This cluster classification confirms the relationship existing between the psychological variables analysed in adolescents [39,40]. A negative relation among violence and sportsmanship could be explain because adolescents with unsportsmanlike behaviours have a higher risk of expressing aggressiveness due to a low trait anger control and self-control [41,42].…”

Sport Activity as Risk or Protective Factor in Feeding and Eating Disorder

“…The analysis of BUT scoring and its subscale indicated greater body uneasiness (at GSI) in SPs than in the two groups of athletes (NCAs > CAs) (χ 2 (3) = 6.36, p = 0.0416). In particular, SPs reported higher scores of body image concerns (χ 2 (3) = 6.57, p = 0.0375) and compulsive self-monitoring (χ 2 (3) = 6.64, p = 0.0362).…”

“…Shields and Bredemeier (1995) affirmed that sport participation should influence personality, promoting courage, persistence, and self-control among athletes [1]. According to this assumption, sport psychologists investigated those dispositional factors such as personality traits, motivational orientations [2][3][4][5][6], and situational factors (e.g., levels of sport participation, types of sports, etc.) that could determine intra-and inter-individual differences in diminishing maladaptive behaviors in sport context, including eating disorders (EDs).…”

Dispositional Factors and Sportsmanship in Italian Athletes

“…In the specific sport context, recent empirical investigations have highlighted the main role of trait self-control in the regulation of maladaptive behaviours (Sofia & Cruz, 2016), as well as its mediating role in the relationships between motivational orientations and sportsmanship. Indeed, the construct was predicted positively by task orientation and negatively by ego orientation, and it indirectly influenced sportsmanship via aggressiveness (de Palo, Monacis, Carlucci, Tanucci, & Sinatra, 2019).…”