Open Access

ARTICLE

Relationships among Perceived Parental Engagement, Coaches’ Coaching Style, Competitive Rumination, Burnout and Moral Behavior of Student-Athletesd

Hyun-Ryun Kim¹, Yun-Kyung Yang^2,*, Haein Seo^3,*, JaePil Seo⁴, Young-Kyun Sim⁵
1 Department of Physical Education, Woosuk University, Wanju, Jeonbuk-do, Republic of Korea
2 Student Life Counseling Center, U1 University, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea
3 Department of Recreation and Leisure Sports, College of Sports Science, Dankook University, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea
4 Sports & Leisure Studies, Gimcheon University, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea
5 Department of Sports Welfare Education, Woosuk University, Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding Author: Yun-Kyung Yang. Email: ; Haein Seo. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Exercise, Sports, and Lifestyle Research for Healthy Living)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2026.086519

Received 01 June 2026; Accepted 22 July 2026; Published online 17 August 2026

Abstract

Background: Student-athletes’ moral behavior is shaped by significant others and cognitive-emotional responses to competition, yet the pathways linking parental engagement, coaching style, competitive rumination, burnout, and moral behavior remain unclear. This study examined the relationships among perceived parental engagement, autonomous and controlling coaching, competitive rumination, burnout, and moral behavior in sport. Methods: 483 student-athletes (Mean_age = 15.96, SD = 1.43) registered with the Korea Olympic Committee completed validated questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: Parental engagement positively predicted competitive rumination (β = 0.177, p < 0.01) and prosocial behavior (β = 0.356, p < 0.001), while negatively predicting burnout (β = −0.162, p < 0.001) and antisocial behavior (β = −0.155, p < 0.01). Autonomous coaching negatively predicted burnout (β = −0.338, p < 0.001) and positively predicted prosocial (β = 0.214, p < 0.05) and antisocial behavior (β = 0.245, p < 0.01), whereas controlling coaching predicted burnout (β = 0.408, p < 0.001). Competitive rumination positively predicted burnout (β = 0.187, p < 0.001). Burnout was the strongest predictor, negatively predicting prosocial behavior (β = −0.342, p < 0.01) and positively predicting antisocial behavior (β = 0.661, p < 0.001). Burnout also mediated the effects of autonomous coaching (prosocial = 0.082; antisocial = −0.174), parental engagement (0.035; −0.074), controlling coaching (−0.324; 0.689), and competitive rumination (−0.043; 0.091) on moral behavior. Conclusions: Burnout emerged as the key mechanism linking parental engagement and coaching behaviors to student-athletes’ moral behavior. Reducing burnout, particularly through autonomy-supportive coaching, may be an effective strategy for fostering moral development in youth sport.

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Keywords

Autonomous coaching; controlling coaching; ruminative thought; prosocial behavior; antisocial behavior

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