ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicPsychological Factors in Physical Education and Sport - Volume VIView all 49 articles
The relationship between speed skating coach leadership behavior and athletes' engagement: the mediating role of athlete psychological fatigue
Provisionally accepted
- 1Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
- 2Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China
- 3Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China
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Objective: This study aims to explore the association between speed skating coaches' leadership behavior and athletes' sports engagement, and to examine the mediating role of athlete psychological fatigue in this relationship. Methods: A convenience sampling method was adopted to survey 433 speed skating athletes from three provinces in Northeast China. Data were collected using the Coach Leadership Behavior Scale, Athlete Engagement Questionnaire, and Psychological Fatigue in Sports Questionnaire. The obtained data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation effect testing. Results: Correlation analysis revealed that authoritarian behavior, a dimension of coach leadership behavior, was significantly negatively correlated with all dimensions of athlete engagement (P < 0.01) and significantly positively correlated with all dimensions of athlete psychological fatigue (P < 0.01). In contrast, other dimensions of coach leadership behavior (training guidance, democratic, social support, and positive feedback) were significantly positively correlated with all dimensions of athlete engagement (P < 0.01) and significantly negatively correlated with all dimensions of athlete psychological fatigue (P < 0.01). Additionally, all dimensions of athlete psychological fatigue were significantly negatively correlated with all dimensions of athlete engagement (P < 0.01). Regression analysis showed that all dimensions of coach leadership behavior had a significant effect on athlete engagement (P < 0.01) and athlete psychological fatigue (P < 0.05), while all dimensions of athlete psychological fatigue also had a significant effect on athlete engagement (P < 0.05). Mediation effect testing indicated that athlete psychological fatigue played a partial mediating role in the influence of coach leadership behavior on athlete engagement. Conclusion: This study found significant correlations between coach leadership behavior, athlete psychological fatigue, and athlete engagement, as well as among their respective dimensions. Each dimension of coach leadership behavior could directly influence both athlete engagement and athlete psychological fatigue, while each dimension of athlete psychological fatigue was directly associated with athlete engagement. Athlete psychological fatigue exerted a partial mediating effect in the relationship between coach leadership behavior and athlete engagement.
Keywords: coach leadership behavior, Athlete engagement, athlete psychological fatigue, Speedskating, Mediation analysis
Received: 21 Aug 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Feng and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dawei Cao
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