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Perceived coach autonomy support and burnout in Chinese university athletes: Basic need satisfaction as an indirect link across gender and sport type

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Perceived coach autonomy support is consistently associated with adaptive athlete functioning, but the specific link to burnout and its subgroup consistency remain less clear. Guided by self-determination theory (SDT), this study tested whether basic psychological need satisfaction formed a theoretically ordered indirect association between perceived coach autonomy support and athlete burnout, and whether that indirect association differed by gender or sport type. We analysed three-phase self-report data from 430 Chinese university athletes (230 men, 200 women; 291 individual-sport, 139 team-sport) from three institutions. The study had institutional review board approval (Ref. No. IRB/D-2667; 27 August 2024), and all participants provided informed consent. Analyses included a parcel-level three-factor confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and discriminant-validity checks, bias-corrected bootstrap estimation of the indirect association (5000 resamples), indices of moderated mediation, and interaction-sensitivity calculations. The parcel model showed close fit, χ 2 (24) = 25.80, CFI = 0.999, RMSEA = 0.013. The standardized indirect association was −0.295, 95% CI [−0.373, −0.221]. No statistically detectable moderation emerged for gender (index of moderated mediation = −0.109, 95% CI [−0.261, 0.037]) or sport type (0.046, 95% CI [−0.120, 0.211]). The findings are consistent with basic psychological need satisfaction as a proximal statistical link between perceived coach autonomy support and burnout in this sample. They do not establish causal mediation, subgroup equivalence, or intervention effects.

Source: Acta Psychologica

DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107720

Authors: Guanyun Wang, Fengnian Meng

Institution: Northwest Normal University

Language: English

Topic: Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,670