Intention to drop out among youth swimmers: Implications of motivational climate, goal orientations, and indicators of well-being and ill-being

Within the framework of the multidimensional and hierarchical model of motivational climate, the aim of this study was to examine the motivational antecedents, as well as well-being and ill-being variables, that predict intention to drop out among youth swimmers. A total of 576 swimmers from Andalusia (54% girls and 46% boys), aged between 11 and 26 years ( M  = 17.01, SD  = 3.63), participated in the study by completing the Spanish versions of the questionnaires assessing the variables of interest. A structural model was tested to examine the following sequence: perceptions of the motivational climate created by coaches (empowering/disempowering), dispositional goal orientations (task and ego), indicators of well-being (subjective vitality and self-esteem), indicators of ill-being (contingent self-esteem), and intention to drop out.

Results from the structural equation model indicated that empowering and disempowering climates positively predicted their corresponding dispositional goal orientations. In addition, task orientation was positively associated with self-esteem and subjective vitality, whereas ego orientation was positively related to contingent self-esteem. Finally, subjective vitality emerged as a negative predictor of intention to drop out. Indirect effects further showed that perceptions of an empowering climate created by coaches had a negative indirect effect on intention to drop out through subjective vitality and self-esteem, whereas perceptions of a disempowering climate had a positive indirect effect on intention to drop out through contingent self-esteem.