Relationship between Self-Compassion and Stress Management in Sports Coaches: Based on the Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs

 Based on the self- determination theory, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-compassion and stress management in coaches based on the mediating role of basic psychological needs.

276 coaches of professional group and individual sports clubs in the northwestern provinces of the country participated in this study in a targeted and accessible manner. Research questionnaires (self-compassion, basic psychological needs, perceived stress and demographics) were provided to the research community electronically via WhatsApp, email and telegram using Google Doc forms.

The results showed that compassionate behaviors were positively related to the experience of satisfaction with basic psychological needs and positively perceived stress. In contrast, these behaviors were negatively related to the experience of frustration of basic psychological needs and negatively perceived stress.

The results of the path analysis test showed that satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs were positive and negative mediators in the relationship between self-compassion and perceived stress, respectively, positive and negative.  The results of this study, while confirming the research hypotheses and the theory of self-determination, emphasize the effective role of self-compassion behaviors in satisfaction of psychological needs and positively perceived stress.