Contextual and individual influences on antisocial behaviour and psychobiosocial states of youth soccer players

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the effects of contextual and individual variables (perceived motivational climate and moral atmosphere, task/ego orientation and perceived competence) on antisocial behaviour and emotion-related psychobiosocial (PBS) states as conceptualised within the individual zones of optimal functioning model. Participants: The study was conducted on a sample of 382 young male soccer players, aged from 14 to 16 years, drawn from 27 Italian teams. Method: A cross-sectional design was used. Assessment included measures of reported antisocial behaviour, perceived moral atmosphere, perceived motivational climate, goal orientation, perceived competence, and PBS states. Data analysis involved confirmatory factor analysis of measures and path analysis of the hypothesized relationships. Results: Results suggest that performance climate and a moral atmosphere, in which aggressive behaviours are encouraged, are likely to determine antisocial behaviour and a range of unpleasant PBS states in young sports participants. Conclusions: Findings substantiate the importance of the situational factors on ethical aspects and emotional states in youngsters. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Sport is often assumed to be a means for the social and moral development of children and adolescents. It transmits the importance of complying with norms and correctly interacting with opponents, and can provide a vehicle for learning to negotiate and find solutions to moral conflicts (Shields & Bredemeier, 1995). The social nature of sport, while providing positive educational opportunities, quite often creates the potential for cheating, lying, intimidating, and injuring other participants, thereby inducing antisocial behaviour (Kavussanu, Seal, & Phillips, 2006). Evidence supports the occurrence of immoral thoughts and actions in sport (for a review, see Weiss & Smith, 2002). Research on moral functioning in sport has been often informed by Bandura’s (1999) social cognitive theory in which the focus is on behaviour, and dual aspects of morality are recognized. The proactive aspect is expressed in the power to behave humanely (prosocial behaviour), whereas the inhibitive aspect is manifested in the power to refrain from behaving inhumanely (antisocial behaviour). Prosocial behaviour has been defined as voluntary behaviour intended to help or benefit another person, whereas antisocial behaviour has been defined as voluntary behaviour intended to harm or disadvantage the others (Kavussanu, 2008). While both forms of morality are important, only the inhibitive aspect of morality was considered in this study and antisocial behaviour was analysed. Bredemeier and Shields (1998) believe behaviour to be central to the concept of morality, because it directly involves other people. Judging injurious actions as legitimate or intending to injure an opponent may have no direct consequences on another person, whereas actually injuring another player has direct consequences for the player. Therefore, behaviours that have consequences for others’ rights and wellbeing can be classified as morally relevant (Kavussanu, 2008). Antisocial behaviour includes behaviours such as trying to injure opponents, cheating, and intentionally breaking the rules of the game. Moral issues in sport have recently been the subject of many studies involving young athletes and research has generally examined predictors of antisocial action, namely contextual and * Corresponding author. Facoltà di Scienze dell’Educazione Motoria, Università di Chieti, Viale Abruzzo, 322 66013 Chieti, Italy. Tel.: þ39 0 871 3554052. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Bortoli).