AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN INTERPERSONAL AND INTRAPERSONAL VARIABLES RELATED TO MOTIVATION IN A GROUP SPORT SETTING

Age-related differences in perceived competence, perceived control, an d anxiety among 10- to 11-year-old boys and 12- to 13-year-old boys wh o participated in an American Youth Soccer Organization league were ex amined. Coaching behaviors thought to be related to these intrapersona l variables were also assessed, and the differences between the coache s in the two divisions were evaluated. There were no age-related diffe rences in perceived competence. The children in the younger division e ndorsed both external perceptions of control and internal attributions for success more strongly than the older children did. The younger ch ildren in each division exhibited significantly more anxiety than thei r older teammates did, although there were no significant across-divis ion effects. All the coaches exhibited more instructive behaviors than encouragement, and more individual-directed behaviors than team-direc tion behaviors, but the proportions of both instruction and individual -directed behaviors were relatively higher for the coaches in the olde r division than they were for the coaches in the younger division.