Changes in Drop Out Intentions: Implications of the Motivational Climate, Goal Orientations and Aspects of Self-Worth across a Youth Sport Season

The main objective of this work was to study the motivational antecedents of the intention to drop out of youth sport from the postulates of the achievement goal theory (AGT), placing special emphasis on the motivational climate that coaches create in their teams. Specifically, we analyzed whether changes in the perception of the motivational climate between the beginning and the end of the season predicted changes in players’ goal orientations, whether these, in turn, predicted changes in self-esteem and contingent self-esteem, and finally, whether the latter predicted the intention to drop out. Participants in the study were 552 players (Mage = 11.23, SD = 1.14), who completed the questio…