Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2025

An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
Published on: May 26, 2020
Links between environmental features and developmental outcomes of elite youth athletes: A cross-sectional study
Luca-Lars Hauser1, Oliver Höner1, Svenja Wachsmuth1
1Department of Sport Psychology and Research Methods, Institute of Sports Science, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Abstract:
From a holistic perspective, the talent development environment (TDE) influences not only the athletic development but also the development of personal skills as well as the wellbeing of elite youth athletes. Alongside research on the effects of broader environmental features on athlete-related talent development (TD) outcomes, the importance of the closer social climate (i.e., teammates, coaches, support staff) is also emphasized. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between environmental features, the social climate and athlete-related TD outcomes (I). Additionally, an exploratory analysis was conducted to investigate the role of motivational climate and psychological safety in the relationship between environmental features and athlete-related TD outcomes (II). To this end, 345 German elite youth athletes completed an online survey assessing their perceptions of environmental features, coach-created motivational climate, and psychological safety as well as wellbeing, performance satisfaction, and life skills development. The results revealed that environmental features (especially long-term development focus, effective coach-athlete communication, and the social network), motivational climate and psychological safety were all significantly associated with the outcome variables. These findings underline the significance of environmental features for athlete-related TD outcomes of young talented athletes in German elite youth sports. However, the results indicated that motivational climate and psychological safety did not have significant indirect effects on the relationship between TDE features and athlete-related TD outcomes. Thus, it remains to be questioned if and what other processes influence this relationship.
Related Concept Videos
Gene-Environment Interactions
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Social Facilitation
Natural Selection and Adaptation
Beyond physical adaptations,...

