The theory of self-determination establishes the existence of three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relationship). If these needs are satisfied, optimal personal well-being will be achieved. The Basic Needs Satisfactions in Sport Scale (BNSSS) is a measurement developed to evaluate these needs within the sporting context. The BNSSS measures the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs through 20 items distributed in five dimensions: autonomy-choice, autonomy-volition, autonomy-perceived locus of internal causality, competence, and relatedness. The purpose of this study is to validate a Spanish version of the BNSSS. The sample were 441 team athletes with a mean age of 17.46 (SD = 3.59), which 46.5% were men and the remaining percentage (53.5%) were women. After a standardised data collection, confirmatory factor analysis and invariance analyses were performed, as well as composite reliability. The obtained version showed a good overall fit of the model and values of composite reliability higher to 0.70. Therefore, a useful tool for assessing basic psychological needs in team sports was obtained.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among basic psychological needs and burnout in a sample of athletes (N = 639). It was hypothesized that psychological needs satisfaction was negatively associated with burnout syndrome and the frustration of these needs related positively. Burnout was measured with the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ), satisfaction of basic psychological needs with the Basic Needs Satisfaction in Sport Scale (BNSSS), and frustration with the Psychological Needs Thwarting Scale (PNTS). Data analysis was conducted under the approach of structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that satisfaction of basic psychological needs had a negative direct effect on burnout of −0.67 (p < 0.001) while the frustration of these needs had a direct effect of 0.18 (p < 0.001). In addition, the total model explained 59% of the total variance of burnout. All individual parameters of the model were statistically significant and the overall fit of the model was satisfactory. It can be concluded that satisfying the basic psychological needs of the athletes can protect them against burnout.

Adolescence is a period of special significance for the development of personal and social values. Positive adolescent development (PYD) can be an ideal perspective from which to promote values in young people through their sports practice. The aim of the study was to adapt and analyse the measurement properties of the Values Scale for Positive Youth Development for use in the context of sport in young athletes. A total of 599 adolescents, competitors of different sports modalities, participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability and invariance analyses were performed. The results confirmed a good model fit, with adjustment indexes (CFI, GFI and AGFI) above 0.90 and error (RMSEA and SRMR) below 0.08. The factor loadings above 0.50 were obtained for all items. Adequate reliability of the scales was also confirmed, between 0.72 and 0.89, and gender, age and sport invariance were confirmed. In conclusion, the analysed scale is a valid and reliable instrument with adequate psychometric properties, which makes it an appropriate assessment tool to be used in sports contexts, based on the positive adolescent development approach.

Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud