Examining the relationship between passion and perceptions of cohesion in athletes

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of harmonious and obsessive passion to
perceptions of task and social cohesion in team sport athletes. Participants were 370 competitive (N=252)
and recreational (N=118) athletes ranging from 18- to 28-years-old (Mage=20.20, SD=1.52) from a wide
variety of team sports. Participants completed the Passion Scale (Vallerand et al., 2003) and the Group
Environment Questionnaire (Carron et al., 1985). A MANOVA revealed that competitive athletes were more
passionate and had higher perceptions of cohesion than did recreational athletes. Multiple regression analyses
revealed a positive relationship between both harmonious and obsessive passion and both task (ATG-T,
GI-T) and social (ATG-S, GI-S) cohesion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed pertaining
to the importance of harmonious and obsessive passion in athletes and perceptions of cohesion in competitive
and recreational sport.