Attachment and well-being: The mediating effects of psychological needs satisfaction within the coach–athlete and parent–athlete relational contexts

Objectives:
Grounded in attachment theory and self-determination theory, this study aimed to examine whether basic needs satisfaction is a mechanism by which athletes' insecure attachment styles are associated with levels of well-being.

Method:
Athletes (N = 430) from a range of sports and competition levels completed a multi-section questionnaire to assess the main variables of the study.

Results:
Bootstrap mediation analysis revealed that athletes' perceptions of satisfaction of basic psychological needs generally mediated the association between their attachment styles and well-being. Moreover, the indirect effect of athletes' experience of the satisfaction of basic needs on well-being was greater within the parental relational context than within the coaching relational context.

Conclusions:
Overall, the findings from the study highlight that the integration of attachment and self-determination theories can promote understanding of relational process in sport.

Highlights:
► Examined associations between athlete attachment and well-being. ► Explored the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction. ► Assessed needs satisfaction within the coaching and parental relational context. ► Needs satisfaction within the coaching and parental contexts mediated the attachment – well-being association. ► Mediating effects of needs satisfaction within the parental context appeared more significant.