Self-control and aggressiveness as mediating factors between motivational orientations and sportspersonship

In light of the increasing propensity toward unsportsmanlike behaviours that have caused the failure of the notion of fair play, this research tested a causal model of theoretically-predicted antecedents of sportspersonship, in which the two trait-related personality factors, self-control and aggressiveness, mediated the relationship between motivational orientations and sportspersonship. After examining the five-factor structure of the Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale in a first sample of Italian athletes (n = 371, M-age = 26.57), the resulting 20-item four-factor model proved to be satisfactory and reliable. In a second sample (n = 814, M-age = 25.96) the proposed empirically-based model confirmed the important role played by self-control in mediating the relationship between ego orientation, aggressiveness, and sportspersonship. In terms of practical implications, the findings provide a more comprehensive conceptualization of the factors that differentiate the inter- and intra-individual characteristics in sportspersonship, thus allowing practitioners to develop effective intervention programs addressed to athletes.