Cohesion and collective efficacy as antecedents and team performance as an outcome of team resilience in team sports

This research project, composed of two studies, aimed to analyse various antecedents and outcomes of team resilience. Study 1, which involved 394 sports team players (M-age = 20.41, SD = 5.23), cross-sectionally examined the relationship between group cohesion and collective efficacy with team resilience, and the mediating effect of collective efficacy on the cohesion-team resilience relationship, using players' perceptions assessed through questionnaires. Study 2, which involved 434 players (M-age = 21.53, SD = 5.57) from collective sports, aimed to longitudinally corroborate the relationship between cohesion (Time 1) and collective efficacy (Time 1) with team resilience (Time 2), and to examine perceived team performance (Time 2) as a consequence of team resilience, again evaluated through questionnaires. Results showed that task cohesion, social cohesion and collective efficacy in Studies 1 and 2 were positively related to resilience characteristics. Also, task cohesion was negatively related to vulnerability under pressure in both studies. Collective efficacy was also shown to be an antecedent of vulnerability under pressure in Study 1 and a mediator of the relationship between task cohesion and resilience characteristics in both studies. Lastly, team resilience was a predictor of perceived team performance at the end of the season in Study 2. Thus, the findings provide new empirical evidence of the antecedents and outcomes of team resilience in the field of sports psychology. Coaches and practitioners should develop group cohesion and collective efficacy in training sessions and matches during the season to achieve more resilient and less vulnerable teams.