The role of emotional intelligence and quality relationships in athletes’ and coaches’ levels of satisfaction: a multi-study analysis

The purpose of the current research was to examine emotional intelligence (EI) within the context of the coach-athlete relationship. A series of studies were conducted to test (a) the associations between coaches’ and athletes’ EI and facets of performance satisfaction and (b) whether the coach-athlete relationship quality explains the association between individuals’ EI and performance satisfaction. The first two studies included data from British (study 1; n = 254) and Belgium athletes (study 2; n = 256) participating in team sports. The third study employed a sample of 109 British (n = 24) and Belgian (nn = 79) team sport coaches. Data were obtained using a multi-section questionnaire. Path analyses revealed that both athletes’ and coaches’ EI predicted performance satisfaction and that coach-athlete relationship quality explained the association between EI and performance satisfaction. The findings of this study add to the growing literature on EI in sport and highlight the important role of emotional abilities and interpersonal skills.