The Influence of Coaches' Self-supporting Behavior on Athlete Thriving: The Mediating Role of Gratitude

Objective: This study explored the relationships among coaches' autonomous support behavior，thriving，and gratitude，with a focus on analyzing the mediating role of gratitude. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1287 athletes using measurement tools for the three variables，The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that there were significant positive correlations between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving (r=0.817， P <0.01)；between gratitude and athlete thriving (r=0.871， P <0.01)，and between gratitude and coaches' autonomous support behavior (r=0.745， P <0.01). Structural equation modeling indicated that gratitude played a partial mediating role in the relationship between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving，with a significant indirect effect of gratitude (95% CI: 0.339，0.497)，accounting for 53.72% of the total effect. Results and conclusions: coaches' autonomous support behavior can not only directly affect athlete thriving but also enhance it by stimulating gratitude. This study emphasizes that gratitude can serve as an intervention target to strengthen the promoting effect of coaches' autonomous support behavior on athlete thriving， providing a reference for important indicators used to measure athletes' internal cognitive and emotional states.