Understanding Needs Satisfaction and Frustration in Young Athletes: Factor Structure and Invariance Analysis

Abstract

Sports research has been focused on the assessment of basic needs satisfaction, considering its absence as a representation of needs frustration. However, recent findings have suggested needs satisfaction and frustration as asymmetrical factors leading to differentiated outcomes. An accurate measurement of needs poses itself as a crucial aspect, facilitating coaches’ understanding of athlete’s motivational processes. This study aimed to examine the psychometric proprieties of the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) in a sample of Portuguese athletes. A multigroup analysis was conducted of gender, sport type, age, and years of sports practice. Additionally, needs satisfaction and needs frustration were tested as predictors of behavioral regulations examining the nomological validity of the BPNSFS. Data from 594 Portuguese athletes (38.6% female; Mage = 15.21; SD = 0.97) that represent two different sports (football and swimming) were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling procedures were followed to test the factor structure and nomological validity of the scale, respectively. Analyses indicated that the six-factor model provided an adequate fit (Comparative Fit Index = 0.947, Tucker–Lewis Index = 0.936, Standardized Root Mean Square = 0.039, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.048 (CI 90% = 0.043, 0.054)). Moreover, the multigroup analysis suggested invariance in the observed structure across groups. In addition, findings indicated a strong prediction between needs satisfaction and autonomous forms of motivation, whereas needs frustration predicted significantly controlled forms of motivation. The sport-adapted BPNSFS in a sample of Portuguese athletes seemed to be an adequate measure for the assessment of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration. Our findings suggested that this scale may be worth testing in future research in the sport context.

Swimming competitions in the era of COVID-19: Lessons from successfully hosting the International Swimming League

“…According to SDT, autonomy, competence and relatedness are the three BPNs, which play a key role in motivation and well-being. Studies conducted with Portuguese athletes showed that autonomy satisfaction and frustration were the most reliable predictors of motivation [32,33], while in terms of coaching, autonomy-supportive behavior proved to be effective in satisfying young swimmers physiological needs [34]. As a result, it can be hypothesized that restricting autonomy in a bubble structure with strict COVID-19 related containment measures might negatively affect an athlete's motivation and consequently, the performance of the given athlete.…”

Assessment in Sport and Exercise Psychology: Considerations and Recommendations for Translation and Validation of Questionnaires

“…Some of the recommendations mentioned have been considered by several authors in Portugal, when analysis of measurement model invariance as include in questionnaire validation in sport and exercise psychology (e.g., Cid et al, 2020b ; Monteiro et al, 2020 ; Rodrigues et al, 2021b ; Teixeira et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Among the indexes presented for acceptable measurement invariance, CFI was chosen as the main criterion because RMSEA and SRMR tend to over reject an invariant model when sample size is small, particularly when using SRMR for testing loading or residual variance invariance (Chen, 2008). Some of the recommendations mentioned have been considered by several authors in Portugal, when analysis of measurement model invariance as include in questionnaire validation in sport and exercise psychology (e.g., Cid et al, 2020b;Monteiro et al, 2020;Rodrigues et al, 2021b;Teixeira et al, 2021).…”

Adaptation and Validation of a Portuguese Version of the Sports Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II-P) Showing Invariance for Gender and Sport Type

“…This measure would be very helpful for coaches and practitioners who wish to optimize performance and well-being. While sport psychology, specifically using the SDT model, may still be in its infancy in Portugal, recent studies (Monteiro et al., 2020; Rodrigues et al., 2020) have suggested that assessing and examining athletes’ motivation is crucial to facilitating a coach’s engagement and connectedness with an athlete’s well-being and self-determined motivation.…”