Meta-perceptions of competence in significant others, perceived competence, situational motivation and fairplay orientations in young athletes

Abstract

The goal of this study was to design a theoretical model based in Vallerand’s (1997) contributions which includes as social factors meta- perceptions of significant others. The model also includes the relationship between self-determined motivation and fair-play orientations in medium-high contact sports. The sample was composed by 496 football and basketball players aged 11-17 years (M=14.19; SD = 1.84). Results showed that coaches’ meta-perception was the most significant predictor of athletes’ perceived competence, followed by parents’ meta-perception, physical education teachers, and teammates’ meta-perception. Globally, they show a high predictive value. Perceived competence was a significant predictor of SDI and this predicted consistently the different fair-play orientations.