title: Narcissism and coach interpersonal style: A self-determination theory perspective.
abstract: Athletes' sport experiences are often influenced by the interpersonal styles of communication used by their coaches. Research on personality antecedents of such styles is scarce. We examined the link between a well-researched personality trait, namely narcissism, and two types of coaching interpersonal style, namely autonomy-supportive and controlling styles. We also tested the mediating roles of dominance and empathic concern in explaining the relations between narcissism and the two coaching interpersonal styles. United Kingdom-based coaches (N = 211) from various sports completed a multi-section questionnaire assessing the study variables. Regression analyses revealed a positive direct relation between narcissism and controlling coach behaviors. Furthermore, empathy (but not dominance) mediated the positive and negative indirect effects of narcissism on controlling and autonomy-supported interpersonal styles, respectively. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for coaching and the quality of athletes' sport experiences.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matosic
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology & Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ntoumanis
authors.affiliation: School of Sport Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Boardley
authors.affiliation: Psychology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sedikides
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology & Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chatzisarantis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D056352:Athletes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009289:Narcissism; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010551:Personality; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013177:Sports; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Controlling; autonomy-supportive; dominance; empathy; sport