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

The Influence of Coaches' Self-supporting Behavior on Athlete Thriving: The Mediating Role of Gratitude | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Influence of Coaches' Self-supporting Behavior on Athlete Thriving: The Mediating Role of Gratitude jia ling Hu, huan Huang, yanli Li, jia ni Hu, lei Xu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444073/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract 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. Athlete thriving Coaches' autonomous support behavior Gratitude Mediating Figures Figure 1 1 Introduction Athletes' thriving refers to the psychological state in which athletes experience both a sense of learning and vigor during sports activities(Gucciard et al.2017) [1] . In the field of competitive sports，negative psychological states such as athletes' burnout are important factors affecting sports performance. According to a study by (Zhang Kangning et al.2023)，research on competitive anxiety in China mainly focuses on the relationship between competitive anxiety and sports performance [2] . (Shang Yao et al. 2021) found that negative psychological states such as anxiety， stress，over-excitement，or mental fatigue can interfere with the speed of information processing and muscle control ability， thereby affecting the quality of sports skills and tactical efficiency [3] . In contrast，thriving (thriving)，as a positive psychological state，can not only bring higher subjective well-being to athletes in competitive sports (Brown et al.2017) [3] but also help maintain long-term stability of their competitive state. (Niessen et al.2012) found that such positive psychological experiences promote athletes' sense of learning and thriving by strengthening their endogenous driving force (intrinsic motivation) and ability beliefs (self-efficacy) [5] . It has been confirmed that athletes with high thriving not only have low burnout but also can maintain strong adaptability in the face of adversity (Ma Yuxuan et al.2021) [6] . A review of previous studies shows that coaches' autonomous support behavior has a significant effect in stimulating athletes' intrinsic motivation， promoting the transformation of external motivation to intrinsic motivation，and extending the duration of goal maintenance，which can effectively enhance athletes' enthusiasm for learning and sense of thriving (Pelletier et al. 2001) [7] . Coaches' autonomous support behavior generally refers to the ability of coaches (as authoritative figures) to put themselves in athletes' shoes (Deci et al.2000) [8] ， attend to their emotional needs，provide key information and opportunities for choice， and reduce athletes' pressure through appropriate encouragement (Williams et al. 2002) [9] . In sports teams，coaches are the undisputed core of the team，with high authority and influence (Wang Runping et al. 2007) [10] . For athletes，coaches are the most important external influencing factor，and their behaviors will undoubtedly have positive or negative impacts on athletes' physiology and psychology. A study by (Felton et al. 2013) found that coaches' use of verbal encouragement in training can arouse athletes' perception of autonomy and thus promote their autonomy. Moreover， coaches' supportive behaviors can significantly enhance athletes' self-confidence and promote the stability and consistency of competitive performance (Gucciard et al. 2017). In addition，coaches' autonomous support behavior helps alleviate athletes' stress and anxiety，and enhances their ability and adaptability to face challenges (Gucciardi et al. 2017) [1] . Studies have confirmed that coaches' autonomous support behavior can meet athletes' need for competence，stimulate their sense of thriving， effectively alleviate negative emotions，and promote athletes' positive cognition of body concepts [11] . Although previous studies have explored the relationship between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving，the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Gratitude may serve as an important mediating mechanism，which can be understood through the general social exchange theory. The "norm of reciprocity" in social exchange requires the beneficiary to reciprocate the resource provider. After athletes perceive their coaches' support，the emotional response of gratitude，as an emotional reward，not only acknowledges the coaches' efforts but also drives athletes to maintain the balance of the exchange relationship through hard training，team collaboration，and other means (Blau et al.1964) [12] . Gratitude refers to the deep sense of appreciation that arises in the beneficiary's heart when they realize that the positive outcomes they have achieved are brought about by the generous assistance and selfless support of the benefactor，and they tend to repay this kindness through practical actions (McCullough et al.2001) [13] . A survey targeting adolescents found that gratitude plays a positive role in athlete groups: it can positively predict team satisfaction and life satisfaction (Kee et al.2008). Similarly，gratitude enhances athletes' sense of happiness through perceived cohesion，promotes their positive emotions (thriving)，and reduces negative emotions (Kee et al.2008). However， empirical studies on such correlations in research related to Chinese athletes are limited，lacking systematic and reliable data support. It is worth noting，though， that existing literature has found a relationship between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving (Song Hongbo et al.2015) [15] ，and there is also a relationship between gratitude and athletes' thriving (Kee et al.2008). Nevertheless， whether gratitude plays a mediating role in this mechanism has not been fully verified. Therefore， starting from this point， this study explores， for the first time， the potential mediating mechanism of gratitude in the association between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving. In summary，this study aims to explore the relationships among Chinese athletes' coaches' autonomous support behavior， athletes' thriving，and gratitude. Furthermore，this study attempts to assess whether gratitude plays a mediating role in the association between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving. Based on this，we propose the following three research hypotheses: Hypothesis 1：Coaches' autonomous support behavior positively predicts athletes' thriving. Hypothesis 2：Gratitude positively predicts athletes' thriving. Hypothesis 3：Gratitude plays a mediating role between coaches' autonomous support behavior and athletes' thriving. 2 Materials and Methods Study Design and Participants This study adopted a cross-sectional research design and used the snowball sampling method (a type of non-probability sampling). All questionnaire filling, collection, and aggregation processes were completed on the "Wenjuanxing" platform. To avoid duplicate submissions, each device was only allowed to submit the questionnaire once. The questionnaire included basic demographic information, the Coach Autonomous Support Behavior Questionnaire, the Chinese Version of the Athlete Thriving Questionnaire, and the Gratitude Questionnaire. To ensure the reliability and validity of the research data, the sample size was at least 5–10 times the number of scale items (Note: The original text "5 to 10 times" is likely a typo; the common academic standard for sample size in scale-based studies is 5–10 times the number of items, so it is revised here for rationality). This is crucial for improving the accuracy of statistical analysis and enhancing the stability of results, and it also helps reduce the potential impact of random errors on the research findings (Chen Bingwei et al.2023) [ 16 ] . The questionnaires were distributed to college athletes across China and professional athletes from some provinces and cities. A total of 1311 questionnaires were collected. To ensure data quality, we excluded samples with a completion time of less than 250 seconds, as well as questionnaires with missing data or obvious anomalies. Finally, 1287 valid questionnaires were included in the analysis. 3 Measurement 3.1 Coach Autonomous Support Behavior Scale The scale revised by Li Deguo et al. was adopted, consisting of 15 items with a 7-point Likert scale (1="strongly disagree"to7="strongly agree"). A higher total score of all items indicates a higher level of coaches' autonomous support behavior (Li Deguo 2022) [ 17 ] . In this study, the collected data on coaches' autonomous support behavior were used for structural equation modeling analysis. The fit indices for structural validity were as follows: CHI-SQUARE = 1355.669, DF = 77, CHI/DF = 17.606, RMSEA = 0.114, GFI = 0.837, and AGFI = 0.778. According to the evaluation criteria proposed by (Wu Minglong 2010) [ 18 ] , the structural validity of the scale was considered good. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.963. Since the factor loading of item 2 was too low, it was deleted, and the data after deletion met the statistical requirements for model fit. 3.2 Chinese Version of the Athlete Thriving Scale The Chinese Version of the Athlete Thriving Scale, revised by was adopted. It consists of two dimensions (Learning, thriving), with 5 items in each dimension (Xu Lei et al.2025) [ 18 ] . A 7-point Likert scale was used, ranging from 1("strongly disagree") to 7 ("strongly agree"), and there were no reverse-scored items. Higher average scores for each dimension and higher overall average score indicate a higher level of athletes' thriving. In this study, the structural validity fit indices of the questionnaire were as follows: χ ²/df = 6.440, RMSEA = 0.060, CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.986, and SRMR = 0.018, which indicated that the structural model of the scale had a good fit. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.967. 3.3 Gratitude The Athlete Gratitude Scale revised by (Peng Xiu 2015) was adopted, which consists of 6 items. A 7-point Likert scale was used for scoring, ranging from 1 ("completely inconsistent") to 7 ("completely consistent"), with higher scores indicating a higher level of gratitude [ 20 ] . Among them, items 3 and 6 are reverse-scored items. In this study, the structural validity fit indices of the questionnaire were as follows: CHI-SQUARE = 130.324, DF = 9, CHI/DF = 14.480, GFI = 0.967, AGFI = 0.924, and RMSEA = 0.102. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.951. 4 Data Analysis To further evaluate the various data, the first step of this study was to use SPSS 26.0 software for questionnaire data entry. The second step was to conduct descriptive statistical analysis on the valid data to understand the characteristics of coaches' autonomous support behavior, athletes' thriving, and gratitude, as well as the differences in each variable across demographic variables. The third step was to use AMOS 26.0 software to perform mediating effect analysis on the theoretical model, so as to explore the mechanism influencing athletes' vitality. Common method bias, descriptive statistical analysis, demographic difference tests, Pearson correlation analysis, mediating effect analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to examine the interrelationships among these variables. Subsequently, the Bootstrap sampling method was used to test the significance of the mediating effect. 5 Results 5.1 Descriptive Statistics A total of 1287 participants were included in this study. The questionnaires were distributed to college athletes from all over the country and professional athletes from some provinces and cities, with 1287 valid responses in total. As shown in Table 1 , the effective response rate was approximately 98.17%. Among them, the average age was 21.62 ± 8.43 years; there were 723 males (56.2%) and 564 females (43.8%);496 participants were engaged in collective events (38.5%) and 791 in individual events (61.5%)༛regarding the years of sports participation, 371 participants (28.8%) had 4 years or less, 446 (34.7%) had 5–9 years, and 470 (36.5%) had 10 years or more; in terms of sports grades, 644 participants (50%) were national second-class athletes or below, 483 (37.5%) were national first-class athletes, and 160 (12.5%) were national masters of sports or above. Table 1 Basic Information of Participants times percentage% Valid percentage% cumulative percentage% Gender Male 723 56.2 56.2 56.2 Female 564 43.8 43.8 100 Educational background Bachelor's degree or below 1082 84.1 84.1 84.1 postgraduate education 205 15.9 15.9 100 event collective events 496 38.5 38.5 38.5 individual events 791 61.5 61.5 100 Years of sports participation 4 years and below 371 28.8 28.8 28.8 5–9 years 446 34.7 34.7 63.5 10 years and above 470 36.5 36.5 100 Sports grade National Level 2 athletes and below 644 50 50 50 National Level 1 Athlete 483 37.5 37.5 87.6 National Master Athletes and above 160 12.5 12.5 100 Total 1287 100 100 5.2 The Correlation between Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors, Athletes' Thriving, and Gratitude Pearson correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor (r = 0.817, P < 0.01);there was a significant positive correlation between gratitude and athletes' vigor (r = 0.871, P < 0.01)༛and there was a significant positive correlation between gratitude and coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors (r = 0.745, P < 0.01). The results indicated that there were significant positive correlations among the three variables: coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, athletes' vigor, and gratitude. Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of Research Variables and Correlation Analysis Between Variables M SD Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors Athletes' thriving Gratitude Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors 5.807 1.022 1 - - Athletes' thriving 5.933 0.977 0.817** 1 - Gratitude 5.973 0.985 0.745** 0.871** 1 * P < 0.05;** P < 0.01 5.3 Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Gratitude Based on the results of the correlation analysis, we advanced the research by constructing a structural equation model (Fig. 1 ). In this model, coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors serve as the independent variable (X), gratitude as the mediating variable (M), and athletes' thriving as the dependent variable (Y). Following the mediating effect testing procedure proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) (see Table 3 ), the first step is to test the predictive effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. The results of the regression analysis of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors on athletes' vigor show that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors have a positive predictive effect on athletes' vigor (β = 0.817, P < 0.001). The second step is to test the predictive effect of the independent variable on the mediating variable, and the results indicate that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can significantly and positively predict gratitude (β = 0.745, P < 0.001). The third step is to test the predictive effect of the mediating variable on the dependent variable, and the result is (β = 0.589, P < 0.001) [ 21 ] . Table 3 Test of the Mediating Role of Gratitude Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Athletes' thriving Gratitude Athletes'thriving independent variable β SE β SE β SE Coaches' Self-supporting Behavior 0.817 *** 0.015 0.745 *** 0.018 0.379 *** 0.017 Gratitude 0.589 *** 0.018 F 2588.437 1603.547 2972.457 R 2 0.668 0.555 0.822 ∆R 2 0.668 0.555 0.822 To further examine the mediating mechanism of gratitude, the Bootstrap sampling method was used to test the significance of the mediating effect, with 5000 repeated samples taken. As shown in Table 4 , the results of the effect of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors on athletes' vigor are significant. Gratitude plays a mediating role in the relationship between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor, and this role includes two paths: (1) the direct effect of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors (95% CI: 0.329, 0.395), accounting for 46.38% of the total effect (see Table 4.20);(2) the mediating effect of gratitude (95% CI: 0.339, 0.497) (see Table 4.21), accounting for 53.72% of the total effect. Table 4 Decomposition Table of the Effect of Gratitude on Athletes' Vigor Influence Path Standardized effect size proportion Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors — Athletes' thriving (Direct Effect) 0.379 46.38% Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors — Gratitude — Athletes' thriving (Indirect Effect) 0.439 53.72% Total Effect of Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors on Athletes' thriving 0.817 As shown in Table 4 , gratitude exerts a partial mediating effect, accounting for 53.72% of the total effect. That is to say, coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and gratitude jointly influence athletes' vigor, indicating that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can not only directly affect athletes' vigor but also enhance it by stimulating gratitude. Relevant studies have shown that coaches' support (autonomy-supportive behaviors) can significantly enhance athletes' level of gratitude, and gratitude further positively predicts their subjective well-being. Although the term "vigor" is not directly used, well-being and vigor are highly overlapping in structure (such as vitality and a sense of growth), which can indirectly support the mediating role of gratitude (Chen et al. 2016) [ 22 ] . 6 Discussion The results of this study indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. (Brown et al. 2017) conducted a longitudinal study on adolescent soccer players and found that if coaches can demonstrate a high level of autonomy support in the coaching process, such as encouraging athletes' active participation in decision-making, it will greatly promote the improvement of athletes' vigor, including enhanced vitality and willingness to learn. Specifically, athletes show higher autonomy and enthusiasm in training [ 23 ] . Meanwhile, the structural equation model revealed that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors indirectly stimulate athletes' vigor by satisfying their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Coaches allow athletes to independently plan training schedules (nurturing the need for autonomy), provide personalized guidance and feedback (enhancing a sense of competence), and establish a strong sense of belonging within the team (strengthening relatedness), which effectively stimulate athletes' vitality and learning motivation (Hodge et al. 2017) [ 24 ] . In addition, the results of the regression analysis show that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors have a positive predictive effect on athletes' vigor. In competitive sports, coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, as a key exogenous supporting factor, can significantly promote the development of athletes' vigor through the mediating mechanism of satisfying basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) [ 25 ] , encouraging athletes to engage in training with full learning enthusiasm, abundant training vitality, and great confidence. This result is consistent with the research findings of (MaYuxuan 2019) [ 26 ] . According to self-determination theory (Ryan et al. 2009), coaches can stimulate athletes' subjective initiative and independent decision-making ability and promote intrinsic motivation by demonstrating autonomy-supportive behaviors [ 27 ] . Based on this, it is concluded that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can positively promote athletes' vigor. Empirical studies have confirmed that in coaching teams adopting autonomy-supportive guidance methods, athletes show excellent performance in dimensions such as need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and psychological resilience (Adie et al.2012) [ 28 ] . Gratitude, as an endogenous factor, shows a significant positive correlation with athletes' vigor and can significantly and positively predict athletes' vigor. Relevant studies have indicated that in the field of competitive sports, gratitude, as an indispensable intrinsic quality, plays a crucial role in athletes' vigor. It not only fosters mutual benefit, assistance, and friendly interactions among athletes but also promotes individuals' social connections, laying a solid foundation for building stable and harmonious social relationships (Fredrickson et al.2004) [ 29 ] . Among college student athletes, individuals with highly grateful traits perform particularly prominently in the core dimensions of vigor—vitality and learning. They compare gratitude to a warm force, which not only helps them maintain a positive attitude when facing training pressure but also greatly enhances the cognition and positive feedback of mutual assistance behaviors within the team (Chen et al.2008) [ 30 ] . According to the broaden-and-build theory, gratitude, as an internal motivation, when actively cultivated, can broaden individuals' cognitive scope (for example, improving the ability to solve problems creatively) and further build a stable internal psychological motivation (such as enhancing resilience), which is crucial for improving athletes' vitality in high-pressure competitive environments. The regression analysis data shows that gratitude positively predicts athletes' vigor, which is consistent with the research results of Jans-Beken (2020) [ 31 ] . In addition, this study found that gratitude plays a mediating role between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. Specifically, gratitude can not only positively predict athletes' vigor but also act as a mediator between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. Based on social exchange theory, coaches invest in gratitude (emotional rewards) from athletes by providing autonomy support (such as personalized guidance, decision-making empowerment, and emotional care), aiming to stimulate their intrinsic motivation and growth potential (Homans et al.1958) [ 32 ] . When coaches adopt autonomy-supportive behaviors (such as respecting athletes' opinions and providing emotional support), athletes are more likely to perceive the care from coaches and the team, which stimulates feelings of gratitude. Such gratitude further enhances athletes' social support and psychological resilience (Gabana 2019) [ 33 ] . Studies have found that athletes with a high tendency toward gratitude perform better in vitality and learning (the core dimensions of vigor), and gratitude indirectly improves vigor by enhancing the perception of social support and psychological resources (Chen et al.2008) [ 14 ] . In this study, gratitude exerts a partial mediating effect, accounting for 53.72% of the total effect, indicating that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can not only directly affect athletes' vigor but also enhance it by stimulating gratitude. (Chen et al. 2016) found that coaches' support (autonomy-supportive behaviors) significantly enhances athletes' level of gratitude, and gratitude further positively predicts their subjective well-being. Although the term "vigor" is not directly used, well-being and vigor are highly overlapping in structure (such as vitality and a sense of growth), which can indirectly support the mediating role of gratitude [ 22 ] . Regression analysis confirmed that gratitude plays a mediating role between autonomy-supportive behaviors and vigor, and revealed the mechanism by which coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors affect psychological states through emotional transmission, providing theoretical support for psychological interventions in training environments. This is consistent with the results of the structural equation model case by (Vink et al. 2022) [ 34 ] . 7 Limitations This study has several limitations. First, the non-probability snowball sampling method may have affected the representativeness of the sample, thereby posing challenges for generalizing the research results to a broader population. In addition, the use of Wenjuanxing (an online survey platform) for large-sample data collection may have led to attention bias and fluctuations in response quality. It is suggested that subsequent empirical studies integrate questionnaire, interview, and behavioral observation data through multiple research schemes to enhance reliability and validity through cross-validation. Finally, the cross-sectional research design inherently limits its ability to determine the causal relationships among coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, gratitude, and athletes' vigor. Since variables were assessed simultaneously, it is difficult to distinguish the directionality of their associations and explore their dynamic interactions. Future studies can adopt a longitudinal design to fully clarify these causal pathways and provide a solid theoretical basis for formulating effective intervention strategies. 8 Conclusion This study reveals several important relationships among coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, gratitude, and athletes' vigor. First, there is a significant positive correlation between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. In addition, gratitude shows a significant positive correlation with athletes' vigor. It is noteworthy that gratitude plays a significant mediating role between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. These findings highlight the positive psychological mechanisms that promote the development of athletes' vigor. In the future, efforts will be made to explore the impact of different intervention measures on athletes' vigor and provide a promising intervention model, so that these methods can help promote the comprehensive development of athletes' positive psychological states. Declarations Acknowledgments This study adopted a cross-sectional design, which has inherent limitations in causal inference. In addition, vitality is not a stable trait; its level is susceptible to the passage of time and situational changes, and tends to fluctuate across different time periods depending on the context. Therefore, longitudinal follow-up studies are recommended for future research. It explored the effects of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and gratitude on athletes' vitality, while failing to address other potential influencing factors, such as subjective well-being and mental toughness. Future researchers could examine the interactions among these factors to construct a formation mechanism model of athletes' vitality. Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing: No AI-assisted technologies were used in the writing process of this manuscript. Disclosure Statement The authors declare that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. Data availability Data will be made available on request. Funding The authors declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.This study was supported by Project of Jiangxi Provincial Education Science Planning: Autonomy and Support: A Study on the Promotion Path of Athletes' Thriving (23YB013) .Youth Project of Humanities and Social Sciences in Jiangxi Provincial Colleges and Universities: A Study on the Influencing Factors and Mechanism of Athletes' Thriving (TY23205). Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank all the participants involved in this project for their contribution and dedication sincerely. Ethics approval and consent to participate This study has been approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Nanchang University (Approval number: NCUREC202511008), and it complies with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants have signed the informed consent forms. Author Contributions Each author meets the authorship requirements. Hu Jialing wrote the main content of the paper and conducted the data analysis. Huang Huan was responsible for data collection and collation. Li Yanli conducts data verification. Hu jia ni Provide English translation and sentence proofreading.Xu Lei reviewed and revised the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Consent for publication All participants provided written informed consent for publication of the data and results in this study, except for identifying information, i.e. their email addresses. References Gucciardi D F S A. Controlling coaching and athlete thriving in elite adolescent netballers: The buffering effect of athletes’mental toughness[J]. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport， 2017，20(8):718-722. Zhang Kangning. Review and Prospect of Competition Anxiety Research in China: A Visualization Analysis Based on CiteSpace[J]. Sichuan Sports Science，2023，42(4):59-62. Shang Yao, Yang Shiyong. 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Coach autonomy support and athlete well-being: The mediating role of gratitude[J]. ournal of Applied Sport Psychology，2022，34(3):512-530. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8444073","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":579326297,"identity":"3c25d089-3640-4fa1-bf7a-b22966303000","order_by":0,"name":"jia ling Hu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shangrao Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"jia","middleName":"ling","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":579326301,"identity":"fa11491b-29db-45b6-8ba3-d7f41c8d4b54","order_by":1,"name":"huan Huang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jingdezhen University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"huan","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""},{"id":579326302,"identity":"1d6c2715-8f9f-444a-b347-9a5f23d6cba8","order_by":2,"name":"yanli Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanchang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"yanli","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":579326303,"identity":"41d80d8a-6eed-4312-8951-df51a2b63129","order_by":3,"name":"jia ni Hu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jinan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"jia","middleName":"ni","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":579326304,"identity":"25281aab-a269-4244-8200-df408275e8ab","order_by":4,"name":"lei Xu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxvbGxocf/0nU729vIFILc8/hw8YSbDaMG3gOEKmFfYZbmgQPWxrjBokEIrXwzuAxk5DgOcxsLvl44w2GGptoglokZ/cYWxRIHGaznJ1WbMFwLC23gZAWwzlnDG9IGBzmYbidYybB2HCYsBb7GzkGEjwJhyUYbp4hUgvjjLQkCZ4DaQYGN3iI1QIKZMkGmwTJHqBfEojxCyQqGyQS+NkPb7zxocaGsBZkYEB01CBpIVXHKBgFo2AUjAwAAO0eQZXcUpCoAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Nanchang University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"lei","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-24 15:53:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444073/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444073/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101355603,"identity":"76732488-ceb3-4617-98ff-c8760ea3345e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-28 20:16:45","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":65191,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStructural Equation Model of Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors， Athletes' Vigor，and Gratitude\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"WPS1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8444073/v1/1edf410fcbd35a4275c224d9.jpg"},{"id":108977460,"identity":"b03b4ef5-6b5e-49b9-a36d-4f727bd06e42","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-11 11:31:48","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":372229,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8444073/v1/66076a16-e10d-4149-8516-2add51188bb8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Influence of Coaches' Self-supporting Behavior on Athlete Thriving: The Mediating Role of Gratitude","fulltext":[{"header":"1 Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eAthletes\u0026apos; thriving refers to the psychological state in which athletes experience both a sense of learning and vigor during sports activities(Gucciard et al.2017)\u003csup\u003e[1]\u003c/sup\u003e. In the field of competitive sports，negative psychological states such as athletes\u0026apos; burnout are important factors affecting sports performance. According to a study by (Zhang Kangning et al.2023)，research on competitive anxiety in China mainly focuses on the relationship between competitive anxiety and sports performance\u003csup\u003e[2]\u003c/sup\u003e. (Shang Yao et al. 2021) found that negative psychological states such as anxiety，\u0026nbsp;stress，over-excitement，or mental fatigue can interfere with the speed of information processing and muscle control ability，\u0026nbsp;thereby affecting the quality of sports skills and tactical efficiency\u003csup\u003e[3]\u003c/sup\u003e. In contrast，thriving (thriving)，as a positive psychological state，can not only bring higher subjective well-being to athletes in competitive sports (Brown et al.2017)\u003csup\u003e[3]\u003c/sup\u003e but also help maintain long-term stability of their competitive state. (Niessen et al.2012) found that such positive psychological experiences promote athletes\u0026apos; sense of learning and thriving by strengthening their endogenous driving force (intrinsic motivation) and ability beliefs (self-efficacy)\u003csup\u003e[5]\u003c/sup\u003e. It has been confirmed that athletes with high thriving not only have low burnout but also can maintain strong adaptability in the face of adversity (Ma Yuxuan et al.2021)\u003csup\u003e[6]\u003c/sup\u003e. A review of previous studies shows that coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior has a significant effect in stimulating athletes\u0026apos; intrinsic motivation，\u0026nbsp;promoting the transformation of external motivation to intrinsic motivation，and extending the duration of goal maintenance，which can effectively enhance athletes\u0026apos; enthusiasm for learning and sense of thriving (Pelletier et al. 2001)\u003csup\u003e[7]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior generally refers to the ability of coaches (as authoritative figures) to put themselves in athletes\u0026apos; shoes (Deci et al.2000)\u003csup\u003e[8]\u003c/sup\u003e，\u0026nbsp;attend to their emotional needs，provide key information and opportunities for choice，\u0026nbsp;and reduce athletes\u0026apos; pressure through appropriate encouragement (Williams et al. 2002)\u003csup\u003e[9]\u003c/sup\u003e. In sports teams，coaches are the undisputed core of the team，with high authority and influence (Wang Runping et al. 2007)\u003csup\u003e[10]\u003c/sup\u003e. For athletes，coaches are the most important external influencing factor，and their behaviors will undoubtedly have positive or negative impacts on athletes\u0026apos; physiology and psychology. A study by (Felton et al. 2013) found that coaches\u0026apos; use of verbal encouragement in training can arouse athletes\u0026apos; perception of autonomy and thus promote their autonomy. Moreover，\u0026nbsp;coaches\u0026apos; supportive behaviors can significantly enhance athletes\u0026apos; self-confidence and promote the stability and consistency of competitive performance (Gucciard et al. 2017). In addition，coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior helps alleviate athletes\u0026apos; stress and anxiety，and enhances their ability and adaptability to face challenges\u0026nbsp;(Gucciardi et al. 2017)\u003csup\u003e[1]\u003c/sup\u003e. Studies have confirmed that coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior can meet athletes\u0026apos; need for competence，stimulate their sense of thriving，\u0026nbsp;effectively alleviate negative emotions，and promote athletes\u0026apos; positive cognition of body concepts\u003csup\u003e[11]\u003c/sup\u003e. Although previous studies have explored the relationship between coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior and athletes\u0026apos; thriving，the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGratitude may serve as an important mediating mechanism，which can be understood through the general social exchange theory. The \u0026quot;norm of reciprocity\u0026quot; in social exchange requires the beneficiary to reciprocate the resource provider. After athletes perceive their coaches\u0026apos; support，the emotional response of gratitude，as an emotional reward，not only acknowledges the coaches\u0026apos; efforts but also drives athletes to maintain the balance of the exchange relationship through hard training，team collaboration，and other means (Blau et al.1964)\u003csup\u003e[12]\u003c/sup\u003e. Gratitude refers to the deep sense of appreciation that arises in the beneficiary\u0026apos;s heart when they realize that the positive outcomes they have achieved are brought about by the generous assistance and selfless support of the benefactor，and they tend to repay this kindness through practical actions (McCullough et al.2001)\u003csup\u003e[13]\u003c/sup\u003e. A survey targeting adolescents found that gratitude plays a positive role in athlete groups: it can positively predict team satisfaction and life satisfaction (Kee et al.2008). Similarly，gratitude enhances athletes\u0026apos; sense of happiness through perceived cohesion，promotes their positive emotions (thriving)，and reduces negative emotions (Kee et al.2008). However，\u0026nbsp;empirical studies on such correlations in research related to Chinese athletes are limited，lacking systematic and reliable data support. It is worth noting，though，\u0026nbsp;that existing literature has found a relationship between coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior and athletes\u0026apos; thriving (Song Hongbo et al.2015)\u0026nbsp;\u003csup\u003e[15]\u003c/sup\u003e，and there is also a relationship between gratitude and athletes\u0026apos; thriving (Kee et al.2008). Nevertheless，\u0026nbsp;whether gratitude plays a mediating role in this mechanism has not been fully verified. Therefore，\u0026nbsp;starting from this point，\u0026nbsp;this study explores，\u0026nbsp;for the first time，\u0026nbsp;the potential mediating mechanism of gratitude in the association between coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior and athletes\u0026apos; thriving.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn summary，this study aims to explore the relationships among Chinese athletes\u0026apos; coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior，\u0026nbsp;athletes\u0026apos; thriving，and gratitude. Furthermore，this study attempts to assess whether gratitude plays a mediating role in the association between coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior and athletes\u0026apos; thriving. Based on this，we propose the following three research hypotheses: Hypothesis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1：Coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior positively predicts athletes\u0026apos; thriving. Hypothesis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2：Gratitude positively predicts athletes\u0026apos; thriving. Hypothesis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3：Gratitude plays a mediating role between coaches\u0026apos; autonomous support behavior and athletes\u0026apos; thriving.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2 Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eStudy Design and Participants\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study adopted a cross-sectional research design and used the snowball sampling method (a type of non-probability sampling). All questionnaire filling, collection, and aggregation processes were completed on the \"Wenjuanxing\" platform. To avoid duplicate submissions, each device was only allowed to submit the questionnaire once. The questionnaire included basic demographic information, the Coach Autonomous Support Behavior Questionnaire, the Chinese Version of the Athlete Thriving Questionnaire, and the Gratitude Questionnaire. To ensure the reliability and validity of the research data, the sample size was at least 5\u0026ndash;10 times the number of scale items (Note: The original text \"5 to 10 times\" is likely a typo; the common academic standard for sample size in scale-based studies is 5\u0026ndash;10 times the number of items, so it is revised here for rationality). This is crucial for improving the accuracy of statistical analysis and enhancing the stability of results, and it also helps reduce the potential impact of random errors on the research findings (Chen Bingwei et al.2023)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. The questionnaires were distributed to college athletes across China and professional athletes from some provinces and cities. A total of 1311 questionnaires were collected. To ensure data quality, we excluded samples with a completion time of less than 250 seconds, as well as questionnaires with missing data or obvious anomalies. Finally, 1287 valid questionnaires were included in the analysis.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3 Measurement","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Coach Autonomous Support Behavior Scale\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe scale revised by Li Deguo et al. was adopted, consisting of 15 items with a 7-point Likert scale (1=\"strongly disagree\"to7=\"strongly agree\"). A higher total score of all items indicates a higher level of coaches' autonomous support behavior (Li Deguo 2022)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. In this study, the collected data on coaches' autonomous support behavior were used for structural equation modeling analysis. The fit indices for structural validity were as follows: CHI-SQUARE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1355.669, DF\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;77, CHI/DF\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;17.606, RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.114, GFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.837, and AGFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.778. According to the evaluation criteria proposed by (Wu Minglong 2010)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e, the structural validity of the scale was considered good. The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α coefficient of the scale was 0.963. Since the factor loading of item 2 was too low, it was deleted, and the data after deletion met the statistical requirements for model fit.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Chinese Version of the Athlete Thriving Scale\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Chinese Version of the Athlete Thriving Scale, revised by was adopted. It consists of two dimensions (Learning, thriving), with 5 items in each dimension (Xu Lei et al.2025)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. A 7-point Likert scale was used, ranging from 1(\"strongly disagree\") to 7 (\"strongly agree\"), and there were no reverse-scored items. Higher average scores for each dimension and higher overall average score indicate a higher level of athletes' thriving. In this study, the structural validity fit indices of the questionnaire were as follows: \u003cem\u003eχ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026sup2;/df\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.440, RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.060, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.990, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.986, and SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.018, which indicated that the structural model of the scale had a good fit. The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α coefficient of the scale was 0.967.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Gratitude\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Athlete Gratitude Scale revised by (Peng Xiu 2015) was adopted, which consists of 6 items. A 7-point Likert scale was used for scoring, ranging from 1 (\"completely inconsistent\") to 7 (\"completely consistent\"), with higher scores indicating a higher level of gratitude\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Among them, items 3 and 6 are reverse-scored items. In this study, the structural validity fit indices of the questionnaire were as follows: CHI-SQUARE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;130.324, DF\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9, CHI/DF\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;14.480, GFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.967, AGFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.924, and RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.102. The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α coefficient of the scale was 0.951.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Data Analysis","content":"\u003cp\u003eTo further evaluate the various data, the first step of this study was to use SPSS 26.0 software for questionnaire data entry. The second step was to conduct descriptive statistical analysis on the valid data to understand the characteristics of coaches' autonomous support behavior, athletes' thriving, and gratitude, as well as the differences in each variable across demographic variables. The third step was to use AMOS 26.0 software to perform mediating effect analysis on the theoretical model, so as to explore the mechanism influencing athletes' vitality. Common method bias, descriptive statistical analysis, demographic difference tests, Pearson correlation analysis, mediating effect analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to examine the interrelationships among these variables. Subsequently, the Bootstrap sampling method was used to test the significance of the mediating effect.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5 Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.1 Descriptive Statistics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 1287 participants were included in this study. The questionnaires were distributed to college athletes from all over the country and professional athletes from some provinces and cities, with 1287 valid responses in total. As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, the effective response rate was approximately 98.17%. Among them, the average age was 21.62\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;8.43 years; there were 723 males (56.2%) and 564 females (43.8%);496 participants were engaged in collective events (38.5%) and 791 in individual events (61.5%)༛regarding the years of sports participation, 371 participants (28.8%) had 4 years or less, 446 (34.7%) had 5\u0026ndash;9 years, and 470 (36.5%) had 10 years or more; in terms of sports grades, 644 participants (50%) were national second-class athletes or below, 483 (37.5%) were national first-class athletes, and 160 (12.5%) were national masters of sports or above.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBasic Information of Participants\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003etimes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epercentage%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eValid percentage%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ecumulative percentage%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e723\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e564\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducational background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBachelor's degree or below\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1082\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epostgraduate education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e205\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eevent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ecollective events\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e496\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eindividual events\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e791\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYears of sports participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 years and below\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e371\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u0026ndash;9 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e446\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 years and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e470\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSports grade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational Level 2 athletes and below\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e644\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational Level 1 Athlete\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e483\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e87.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational Master Athletes and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1287\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.2 The Correlation between Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors, Athletes' Thriving, and Gratitude\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePearson correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.817, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01);there was a significant positive correlation between gratitude and athletes' vigor (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.871, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01)༛and there was a significant positive correlation between gratitude and coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.745, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). The results indicated that there were significant positive correlations among the three variables: coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, athletes' vigor, and gratitude.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive Statistics of Research Variables and Correlation Analysis Between Variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes' thriving\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGratitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.807\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes' thriving\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.933\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.977\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.817**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGratitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.973\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.985\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.745**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.871**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e*\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05;**\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.3 Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Gratitude\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on the results of the correlation analysis, we advanced the research by constructing a structural equation model (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). In this model, coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors serve as the independent variable (X), gratitude as the mediating variable (M), and athletes' thriving as the dependent variable (Y).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing the mediating effect testing procedure proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e), the first step is to test the predictive effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. The results of the regression analysis of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors on athletes' vigor show that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors have a positive predictive effect on athletes' vigor (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.817, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). The second step is to test the predictive effect of the independent variable on the mediating variable, and the results indicate that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can significantly and positively predict gratitude (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.745, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). The third step is to test the predictive effect of the mediating variable on the dependent variable, and the result is (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.589, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTest of the Mediating Role of Gratitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStep 1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStep 2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStep 3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes' thriving\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGratitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAthletes'thriving\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eindependent variable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoaches' Self-supporting Behavior\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.817\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.015\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.745\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.018\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.379\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.017\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGratitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.589\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.018\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2588.437\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1603.547\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2972.457\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.668\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.555\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e∆R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.668\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.555\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo further examine the mediating mechanism of gratitude, the Bootstrap sampling method was used to test the significance of the mediating effect, with 5000 repeated samples taken. As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, the results of the effect of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors on athletes' vigor are significant. Gratitude plays a mediating role in the relationship between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor, and this role includes two paths: (1) the direct effect of coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors (95% CI: 0.329, 0.395), accounting for 46.38% of the total effect (see Table\u0026nbsp;4.20);(2) the mediating effect of gratitude (95% CI: 0.339, 0.497) (see Table\u0026nbsp;4.21), accounting for 53.72% of the total effect.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecomposition Table of the Effect of Gratitude on Athletes' Vigor\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfluence Path\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStandardized effect size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eproportion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors \u0026mdash; Athletes' thriving (Direct Effect)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.379\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46.38%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors \u0026mdash; Gratitude \u0026mdash; Athletes' thriving (Indirect Effect)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.439\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53.72%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal Effect of Coaches' Autonomy-Supportive Behaviors on Athletes' thriving\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.817\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, gratitude exerts a partial mediating effect, accounting for 53.72% of the total effect. That is to say, coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and gratitude jointly influence athletes' vigor, indicating that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can not only directly affect athletes' vigor but also enhance it by stimulating gratitude. Relevant studies have shown that coaches' support (autonomy-supportive behaviors) can significantly enhance athletes' level of gratitude, and gratitude further positively predicts their subjective well-being. Although the term \"vigor\" is not directly used, well-being and vigor are highly overlapping in structure (such as vitality and a sense of growth), which can indirectly support the mediating role of gratitude (Chen et al. 2016)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"6 Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe results of this study indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. (Brown et al. 2017) conducted a longitudinal study on adolescent soccer players and found that if coaches can demonstrate a high level of autonomy support in the coaching process, such as encouraging athletes' active participation in decision-making, it will greatly promote the improvement of athletes' vigor, including enhanced vitality and willingness to learn. Specifically, athletes show higher autonomy and enthusiasm in training\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Meanwhile, the structural equation model revealed that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors indirectly stimulate athletes' vigor by satisfying their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Coaches allow athletes to independently plan training schedules (nurturing the need for autonomy), provide personalized guidance and feedback (enhancing a sense of competence), and establish a strong sense of belonging within the team (strengthening relatedness), which effectively stimulate athletes' vitality and learning motivation (Hodge et al. 2017)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. In addition, the results of the regression analysis show that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors have a positive predictive effect on athletes' vigor. In competitive sports, coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, as a key exogenous supporting factor, can significantly promote the development of athletes' vigor through the mediating mechanism of satisfying basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e, encouraging athletes to engage in training with full learning enthusiasm, abundant training vitality, and great confidence. This result is consistent with the research findings of (MaYuxuan 2019)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. According to self-determination theory (Ryan et al. 2009), coaches can stimulate athletes' subjective initiative and independent decision-making ability and promote intrinsic motivation by demonstrating autonomy-supportive behaviors\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Based on this, it is concluded that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can positively promote athletes' vigor. Empirical studies have confirmed that in coaching teams adopting autonomy-supportive guidance methods, athletes show excellent performance in dimensions such as need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and psychological resilience (Adie et al.2012) \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGratitude, as an endogenous factor, shows a significant positive correlation with athletes' vigor and can significantly and positively predict athletes' vigor. Relevant studies have indicated that in the field of competitive sports, gratitude, as an indispensable intrinsic quality, plays a crucial role in athletes' vigor. It not only fosters mutual benefit, assistance, and friendly interactions among athletes but also promotes individuals' social connections, laying a solid foundation for building stable and harmonious social relationships (Fredrickson et al.2004)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Among college student athletes, individuals with highly grateful traits perform particularly prominently in the core dimensions of vigor\u0026mdash;vitality and learning. They compare gratitude to a warm force, which not only helps them maintain a positive attitude when facing training pressure but also greatly enhances the cognition and positive feedback of mutual assistance behaviors within the team (Chen et al.2008)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. According to the broaden-and-build theory, gratitude, as an internal motivation, when actively cultivated, can broaden individuals' cognitive scope (for example, improving the ability to solve problems creatively) and further build a stable internal psychological motivation (such as enhancing resilience), which is crucial for improving athletes' vitality in high-pressure competitive environments. The regression analysis data shows that gratitude positively predicts athletes' vigor, which is consistent with the research results of Jans-Beken (2020)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, this study found that gratitude plays a mediating role between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. Specifically, gratitude can not only positively predict athletes' vigor but also act as a mediator between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. Based on social exchange theory, coaches invest in gratitude (emotional rewards) from athletes by providing autonomy support (such as personalized guidance, decision-making empowerment, and emotional care), aiming to stimulate their intrinsic motivation and growth potential (Homans et al.1958)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. When coaches adopt autonomy-supportive behaviors (such as respecting athletes' opinions and providing emotional support), athletes are more likely to perceive the care from coaches and the team, which stimulates feelings of gratitude. Such gratitude further enhances athletes' social support and psychological resilience (Gabana 2019)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Studies have found that athletes with a high tendency toward gratitude perform better in vitality and learning (the core dimensions of vigor), and gratitude indirectly improves vigor by enhancing the perception of social support and psychological resources (Chen et al.2008)\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. In this study, gratitude exerts a partial mediating effect, accounting for 53.72% of the total effect, indicating that coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors can not only directly affect athletes' vigor but also enhance it by stimulating gratitude. (Chen et al. 2016) found that coaches' support (autonomy-supportive behaviors) significantly enhances athletes' level of gratitude, and gratitude further positively predicts their subjective well-being. Although the term \"vigor\" is not directly used, well-being and vigor are highly overlapping in structure (such as vitality and a sense of growth), which can indirectly support the mediating role of gratitude\u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Regression analysis confirmed that gratitude plays a mediating role between autonomy-supportive behaviors and vigor, and revealed the mechanism by which coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors affect psychological states through emotional transmission, providing theoretical support for psychological interventions in training environments. This is consistent with the results of the structural equation model case by (Vink et al. 2022) \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"7 Limitations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study has several limitations. First, the non-probability snowball sampling method may have affected the representativeness of the sample, thereby posing challenges for generalizing the research results to a broader population. In addition, the use of Wenjuanxing (an online survey platform) for large-sample data collection may have led to attention bias and fluctuations in response quality. It is suggested that subsequent empirical studies integrate questionnaire, interview, and behavioral observation data through multiple research schemes to enhance reliability and validity through cross-validation. Finally, the cross-sectional research design inherently limits its ability to determine the causal relationships among coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, gratitude, and athletes' vigor. Since variables were assessed simultaneously, it is difficult to distinguish the directionality of their associations and explore their dynamic interactions. Future studies can adopt a longitudinal design to fully clarify these causal pathways and provide a solid theoretical basis for formulating effective intervention strategies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"8 Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study reveals several important relationships among coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors, gratitude, and athletes' vigor. First, there is a significant positive correlation between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. In addition, gratitude shows a significant positive correlation with athletes' vigor. It is noteworthy that gratitude plays a significant mediating role between coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviors and athletes' vigor. These findings highlight the positive psychological mechanisms that promote the development of athletes' vigor. In the future, efforts will be made to explore the impact of different intervention measures on athletes' vigor and provide a promising intervention model, so that these methods can help promote the comprehensive development of athletes' positive psychological states.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study adopted a cross-sectional design, which has inherent limitations in causal inference. In addition, vitality is not a stable trait; its level is susceptible to the passage of time and situational changes, and tends to fluctuate across different time periods depending on the context. Therefore, longitudinal follow-up studies are recommended for future research.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt explored the effects of coaches\u0026apos; autonomy-supportive behaviors and gratitude on athletes\u0026apos; vitality, while failing to address other potential influencing factors, such as subjective well-being and mental toughness. Future researchers could examine the interactions among these factors to construct a formation mechanism model of athletes\u0026apos; vitality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDeclaration of generative AI in scientific writing:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo AI-assisted technologies were used in the writing process of this manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisclosure Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData will be made available on request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.This study was supported by Project of Jiangxi Provincial Education Science Planning: Autonomy and Support: A Study on the Promotion Path of Athletes\u0026apos; Thriving (23YB013) .Youth Project of Humanities and Social Sciences in Jiangxi Provincial Colleges and Universities: A Study on the Influencing Factors and Mechanism of Athletes\u0026apos; Thriving (TY23205).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors would like to thank all the participants involved in this project for their contribution and dedication sincerely.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study has been approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Nanchang University (Approval number: NCUREC202511008), and it complies with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants have signed the informed consent forms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach author meets the authorship requirements. Hu Jialing wrote the main content of the paper and conducted the data analysis. Huang Huan was responsible for data collection and collation. Li Yanli conducts data verification. Hu jia ni Provide English translation and sentence proofreading.Xu Lei reviewed and revised the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll participants provided written informed consent for publication of the data and results in this study, except for identifying information, i.e. their email addresses.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGucciardi D F S A. 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Coach autonomy support and athlete well-being: The mediating role of gratitude[J]. ournal of Applied Sport Psychology，2022，34(3):512-530. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Athlete thriving, Coaches' autonomous support behavior, Gratitude, Mediating","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444073/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444073/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObjective:\u003c/strong\u003eThis study explored the relationships among coaches' autonomous support behavior，thriving，and gratitude，with a focus on analyzing the mediating role of gratitude.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003eA 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，\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;0.01)；between gratitude and athlete thriving (r=0.871，\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;0.01)，and between gratitude and coaches' autonomous support behavior (r=0.745，\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;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.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults and conclusions: \u003c/strong\u003ecoaches' 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.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Influence of Coaches' Self-supporting Behavior on Athlete Thriving: The Mediating Role of Gratitude","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-28 20:16:33","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444073/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"fac4f8f9-22d7-437f-9bf8-54b0e2ad70b0","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 28th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Withdrawn","date":"2026-05-10T22:35:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-10T22:39:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-28 20:16:33","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8444073","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8444073","identity":"rs-8444073","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}