Light Quartet Traits and Coaching Behaviors Among Sport Coaches: Examining the Indirect Effect of Positive Emotions

Abstract

Coaches’ personality traits are associated with their behaviors, yet the emotional processes underlying these associations remain underexplored. Grounded in the Light Quartet framework, this study examined the associations among hope, optimism, perseverance, resilience, positive emotions, and coaching behaviors, with particular attention to the statistical mediating role of positive emotions. A cross-sectional design was employed involving 570 sport coaches ( M = 38.93, SD = 7.49) from Southern Philippines. Standardized self-report measures assessed the four Light Quartet traits, positive emotions, and five dimensions of coaching behavior: training and instruction (TI), democratic behavior (DB), autocratic behavior (AB), social support (SS), and positive feedback (PF). Mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS with 10,000 bootstrap resamples. The Light Quartet traits were positively associated with positive emotions. Significant indirect associations through positive emotions were observed between the Light Quartet traits and TI, DB, AB, and PF, whereas indirect associations with SS were not supported. These findings indicate that positive emotions may help explain the statistical associations between positive personality characteristics and specific dimensions of coaching behavior. Given the cross-sectional and self-report design, the findings are interpreted as statistical indirect associations and do not establish temporal or causal relationships. The study extends research on the Light Quartet by examining its associations with coaches’ emotional experiences and leadership behaviors.