Dimension-level conditional associations among coach–athlete relationship quality, psychological strain, and burnout in Chinese competitive athletes
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction Total scores do not indicate whether associations among coach–athlete relationship quality, psychological strain, and athlete burnout are diffuse or concentrated in specific dimensions. This study aimed to identify dimension-level conditional associations, evaluate bridge stability, and examine how robust these associations are to observed sample heterogeneity. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 564 Chinese competitive athletes completed the Coach–Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q), Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ), and Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). Total-score correlations and a seven-node Spearman extended Bayesian information criterion graphical least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (EBICglasso) network were analysed following assessment of measurement quality. The complete nine-node network was examined as a supplementary analysis. Estimation uncertainty and stability were assessed using 1,000 non-parametric bootstrap samples and case-dropping analysis. Covariate-adjusted networks, exploratory subgroup permutation tests, and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Results Better relationship quality was associated with lower psychological strain ( r = −0.255) and burnout ( r = −0.353), whereas psychological strain was positively associated with burnout ( r = 0.636; all Benjamini–Hochberg (BH)-adjusted p < 0.001). Performance concerns–emotional/physical exhaustion was the only cross-community edge whose bootstrap interval excluded zero [weight = 0.275, 95% interval (0.190, 0.354)]. Correlation-stability coefficients were 0.70 for bridge strength and 0.60 for bridge expected influence. The core association was retained in both the adjusted and supplementary nine-node networks. No subgroup comparison reached statistical significance after Holm adjustment. Conclusion Performance concerns–emotional/physical exhaustion was the clearest cross-domain conditional association, but the cross-sectional network did not establish a mechanism or intervention target. Longitudinal and multilevel replication is needed.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7225236915