Development and validation of the Chinese coaches' interpersonal style scale.

Purpose: Coaches' behaviors and coaching styles play a critical role in influencing athletes' psychological experiences and performance. According to the self-determination theory (SDT), coaches' interpersonal behaviors are commonly categorized as autonomy-supportive and controlling. Due to less focus on the unique behaviors of Chinese coaches, this study incorporated coaches' parental care for athletes, referred to as paternalistic benevolence, in their interpersonal styles in the context of the Chinese culture. Methods: Exploratory factor analyses were used in studies 1 and 2 to find items associated with benevolent coaching behaviors and items to create the Chinese Coaches' Interpersonal Style Scale. Study 3 used the constructed scale, as well as the Subjective Vitality Scale and Athlete Burnout Questionnaire, with a sample of athletes to examine scale reliability. The 15-item Chinese Coaches' Interpersonal Style Scale contained three dimensions: benevolent, autonomy-supportive, and controlling coaching styles. Results: The findings showed that: (1) benevolent coaching behaviors held significant explanatory weight in the Chinese cultural context; (2) controlling and autonomy-supportive coaching styles were culturally congruent among both Eastern and Western athletes; and (3) benevolent and autonomy-supportive coaching behaviors positively impacted athletes, whereas controlling coaching behaviors had a negative impact. Conclusion: The measure showed strong validity and reliability, making it useful for future practice and research on the interpersonal style of Chinese coaches.

Examining the psychometric properties of the Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale in Chinese Elite Athletes.

Coaching style is key to athletes' performance and mental well-being. However, few attempts have examined the effects of coaching style on athletes in a Chinese cultural context. Based on previous literature and 23 expert interviews (11 with athletes and 12 with coaches), we rebuilt a 16-items on the Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale. In study 1, 130 provincial team athletes completed a 16-items questionnaire on controlling coach behaviors. The questionnaire items were then screened using exploratory factor analysis and transformed into a formal scale. In study 2, another 560 provincial athletes completed several measures related to coaching style, motivation, subjective vitality, and burnout, and systematic tests were carried out to validate the scale. Study 3 examined the test-retest reliability of the Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale over a 2-week interval. Finally, the present study yielded a nine-item Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale with three dimensions (controlling use of reward, negative conditional regard, and excessive personal control). It suggests that cultural differences played an important role in the communication between athletes and coaches. The new Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale shows good validity and can be used in future research.

Further Examination of the Psychometric Properties of the Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Scale: Evidence from Chinese Elite Athletes.

This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Scale (MMHLS) among Chinese elite athletes. Particularly, the factorial validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, concurrent validity, internal-consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability of the MMHLS were examined. A total of 320 participants were recruited from the Guangdong provincial sports training center in China. Data collection was conducted between 30 June and 31 July 2020 using electronic questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Rasch analysis, correlation analysis and independent-sample t-tests were conducted using Mplus 8.3 and ConQuest 2.0. The CFA results supported the factorial validity of the three-dimensional MMHLS, consisting of knowledge-oriented MHL, beliefs-oriented MHL, and resource-oriented MHL. Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability coefficients supported the internal-consistency reliability of the MMHLS. Moreover, the convergent and discriminant validities were supported for the subdimension of MHL-Knowledge, MHL-Beliefs, and MHL-Resources. Concurrent validity was demonstrated through correlations between MMHLS, help-seeking attitudes, and stigma. Rasch analysis provided further evidence of the psychometric quality of the instrument in terms of its dimensionality, item fit statistics, and rating scale effectiveness. Finally, test-retest reliability was 0.66 after one month. In conclusion, the 24-item three-dimensional MMHLS was verified to be a reliable and valid measurement of mental health literacy in Chinese elite athletes.

Multiple positive solutions for nonlinear fractional boundary value problems.

This paper is devoted to the existence of multiple positive solutions for fractional boundary value problem DC0+αu(t)=f(t, u(t), u'(t)), 0