Current Research Directions
The research reported in this special section of Developmental Psychology reflects and extends past theory and research and raises new questions for consideration about youth sport participation and programs. For instance, in the first empirical article in the special section, Gaudreau, Amiot, and Vallerand (2009) report on their use of latent class growth modeling to identify positive and negative longitudinal trajectories of affective states in elite youth hockey players and their examination of how a seasonal turning point, namely, team selection, affects the trajectories. Gaudreau et al. recognize that emotional experiences are likely to evolve differently for different athletes and that these experiences depend on different psychological characteristics at the start of the season (self-determination, need satisfaction, athletic identity, and school identity). Three positive and three negative trajectories were identified. Two trajectories (one positive and one negative) were negatively impacted when athletes were not selected onto the team, and more maladaptive trajectories were associated with low need satisfaction, self-determination, and academic identity.