The effect of abusive leadership by coaches on Division I student-athletes’ performance: The moderating role of core self-evaluations

•Abusive leadership by coaches is negatively correlated with athlete performance.•High core self-evaluations buffer the negative impact of abusive leadership.•Females are likely to have lower levels of core self-evaluations than males.The aim of this study was to increase our understanding of the harm of abusive leadership on followers’ performance. Student-athletes (N = 145) at a US institution completed surveys. The authors used hierarchical regression analysis and an independent samples t-test to assess the hypotheses. Consistent with core self-evaluations theory, results revealed that core self-evaluations moderate the negative relationship between abusive leader behavior and student-athlete performance, such that the negative relationship is weakened for those with higher, rather than lower, levels of core self-evaluations. Results further indicated that women student-athletes are likely to have lower levels of core self-evaluations than are men, thus highlighting the potential increased impact that abusive leadership may have on women and their performance. Implications of these findings for research, theory and practice on abusive leadership and performance are discussed.