Basic Psychological Need Support, Need Satisfaction, and Autonomous Motivation in Coach-Athlete Relationships: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has been widely applied in sports coaching research, encompassing both basic psychological need (BPN)–supportive (bright side) and BPN–thwarting (dark side) coaching behaviours. This paper focuses on the bright side by systematically reviewing and meta-analysing SDT-based studies investigating coaches’ and athletes’ positive experiences of BPN support, BPN satisfaction, and autonomous motivation. The findings are synthesised into a coherent and circular framework linking coaches’ BPN support, athletes’ BPN satisfaction, athletes’ autonomous motivation, coaches’ BPN satisfaction, and coaches’ autonomous motivation. Our meta-analysis, based on literature up to January 2025, included 102 studies and analysed 339 correlations from 120 independent samples (N = 43,675). The results revealed significant effect sizes for the relationships between coaches’ BPN support and athletes’ BPN satisfaction (r = .47), athletes’ BPN satisfaction and athletes’ autonomous motivation (r = .37), athletes’ autonomous motivation and coaches’ BPN satisfaction (r = .35), coaches’ BPN satisfaction and coaches’ autonomous motivation (r = .38), and coaches’ autonomous motivation and coaches’ BPN support (r = .41). These findings, derived from studies relying on individual-level data (either coaches’ or athletes’ data), suggest an interconnected nature of coaching dynamics within the coaching relationship. We discuss the limitations of our systematic review and propose critical directions for future research. Our main conclusion highlights the strong need for dyadic-level research to better understand the reciprocal nature of coach-athlete relationships.