Coach-Gymnast Relationships, Psychological Well-Being, and Self-Reported Performance Among Competitive Gymnasts: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The coach-athlete dyad is the central interpersonal component of an athlete's psychosocial training. The purpose of the study was to find out the relationship between perceived quality of the coach-gymnast relationship, psychological well-being, and self-reported performance markers in competitive gymnasts. Descriptive analytical cross-sectional design was adopted with a purposive sample of 25 competitive gymnasts (Male = 15 and Female = 10) between 19-25 years of age in Rohtak, Haryana, India. A 20-item survey with five-point Likert scale was given to the participants, including 10 items that measured coach-athlete relationship quality based on the 3+1 Cs framework and 10 items that measured mental preparedness, pre-performance stress, emotional stability, fatigue recovery, evaluation anxiety, motivation, sleep quality, self-confidence, perceived performance improvement, and coach psychological support. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to analyse the data. Relationship quality perceptions were largely favorable, with the highest rating being that the relationship aids in better performance (4.40 ± 0.56). The coach-athlete relationship scores showed a strong (r = .714, p < .001) statistically significant positive correlation with composite psychological well-being/performance score. Male gymnasts reported significantly higher composite scores (4.01 ± 0.45) than female gymnasts (3.62 ± 0.50; t[23] = 2.18, p = .039). The results support the strong relationship between interpersonal dyadic positivity and increased psychological preparedness and self-perceived athletic development. Because this was a cross-sectional design, based on subjective self-report, with a small sample size, causal explanations are not justified.