The Associations between Talent Development Environments and Psychological Skills in Iranian Youth Athletes: A Variable and Person-centred Approach

Martindale, Russell; Li, Chunxiao; Andronikos, Georgios; Jafari, Marziyeh; Badami, Rokhsareh

Abstract

The environment plays a significant role in the development of talent athletes. A big part of this is preparing athletes with the psychological skills to cope and thrive through the challenges of their sporting journey. Understanding which features of the Talent Development Environment (TDE) best facilitate psychological skill use would be extremely useful for coaches to understand. As such, the main aim of this research was to investigate the relationships between TDE factors and psychological skills through a variable and person-centred approach (i.e., use both regression and cluster analyses). A second aim was to examine the psychometric properties of the Persian TDEQ-5 providing an initial validation for its use in Persian speaking cultures. To this end, the TDEQ-5 and Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports–Youth version–Short Form were administered to 371 Iranian athletes. The results showed that higher quality TDEs predicted higher psychological skill use. Specifically, Holistic Quality Preparation predicted all five psychological skills, while Long Term Development predicted anxiety control and Alignment of Expectations predicted self-confidence. The Persian TDEQ-5 was found to be a valid and reliable tool. Implications for coaches and those in charge of TDEs are discussed.

Citation

Martindale, R., Li, C., Andronikos, G., Jafari, M., & Badami, R. (2023). The Associations between Talent Development Environments and Psychological Skills in Iranian Youth Athletes: A Variable and Person-centred Approach. International Sport Coaching Journal / ISCJ, 10(2), 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2022-0053

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 14, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jan 14, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Deposit Date: Nov 14, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 14, 2023
• Print ISSN: 2328-918X
• Electronic ISSN: 2328-9198
• Publisher: Human Kinetics
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 154-162
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2022-0053
• Keywords: TDEQ, validity, CFA, predictive, talent development, environment, psychological skills
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2957515