Factors that influence the effectiveness of received support in sport

The presence of supportive relationships is crucial in various contexts, but received support is sometimes ineffective or even detrimental. Using the support adequacy model as a key framework, this thesis examined the effects of support (in)adequacy on outcomes, whether these relationships generalised across cultures, were moderated by requested support, and mediated by support satisfaction. Chapter 2 comprises two experimental studies which found support (in)adequacy predicted psychological outcomes and performance (Study 2 only). Adequate support (received support as wanted) was generally associated with more favourable outcomes, and underprovision (received less support than wanted) was associated with less favourable outcomes. The effects of overprovision (received more support than wanted) were mixed. Chapter 3 comprises a cross-sectional, survey study conducted in British and Chinese athletes. Polynomial regression analyses revealed that across both samples: 1) adequate support was associated with more favourable psychological outcomes, especially at higher levels of received and wanted support; 2) overprovision was associated with more favourable outcomes than underprovision; 3) effects generally operated indirectly through satisfaction with support. Chapter 4 comprises a prospective study with UK university athletes. The effects of support (in)adequacy on Time 2 outcomes were moderated by requested support. At high requested support, the effects replicated those in Chapter 3. At low requested support, adequate support was associated with more favourable psychological outcomes, but overprovision became as detrimental as underprovision. Overall, the thesis found that received support was associated with more favourable outcomes when it was congruent with what athletes wanted, these findings were robust across cultures and study designs, furthermore the effects were moderated by requested support, and mediated by support satisfaction. The findings provide evidence for, and extend the predictions of, the support adequacy model, and demonstrate that novel insights can be provided by using polynomial regression in social support research.