The influence of reflected appraisals on middle school and high school athletes' self-perceptions of sport competence

This study examined the reflected appraisal process in female middle school (n = 66; M age = 12.39+/-.87 years) and high school athletes (n = 88; M age = 14.70+/-1.08 years). Questionnaires assessed the athletes' self-perceptions of sport competence and how they perceived their mothers, fathers, coaches, and teammates evaluated their ability in sport. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the various reflected appraisals predicted self-perceptions of competence (p < .01, R-2 = .65). Mothers (beta = .19), coaches (beta = .24), and teammates (beta = .47) were each significant predictors, while the reflected appraisal of fathers (beta = .08) was non-significant. Squared semi-partial correlations indicated that teammates accounted the greatest amount of unique (sr(2) = .25), followed by coaches (sr(2) = .08), mothers (sr(2) = .05), and fathers (sr(2) = .01). Structural equation modeling indicated that the pattern of relationships was the same for middle school and high school athletes.