Understanding adolescents’ motivation to sustain engagement in sports and physical activity

GAVIN, J. -SRG 2009
MALO, M.,MCBREARTY M.

Français

2011

Purpose and Research Questions

The current study involves an inquiry into the motivational factors (intrinsic and extrinsic) that promote adolescents ’ choice of and sustained engagement in sports and physical activity. The benefits of this study include an increased understanding of adolescents’ choices of and motivations for physical activity and sports. Moreover, the study examines the degree to which adolescents, their parents and physical educators perceive degrees of correspondence between the student’ s psychosocial profile and the unique psychosocial emphases of the activities in which the adolescent prefers to participate.

The research questions are as follows:

1. What factors promote adolescents ’ sustained engagement in sports and physical activity?

2. How do adolescents ’ psychosocial patterns relate to comparable characteristics inherent in the sports and physical activities they choose and regularly practice?

Participants

Sixteen high school students (8 boys/8 girls), their parents (or legal guardians) and Physical Education (or equivalent) teachers at the adolescents ’ high school. Inclusion criteria include longstanding (over 8 years) involvement in physical activity.

Method

Qualitative data was collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents/legal guardians. A separate interview took place with the adolescents ’ physical educators.

Questions pertained to involvement and interests in physical activities over the years, sustaining factors, challenges to continuing participation, perceived benefits, and degree to which activities were perceived to be congruent with the adolescents ’ psychosocial style.

These questions were asked in joint sessions involving parents and child.

Results

Findings offer guidelines for adolescents ’ motivations for long-term activity participation. Family and other social support structures related to activity participation are identified. Challenges to continuing participation were highlighted in the interviews. In addition, suggestions are provided concerning activity choices and their correspondence to the psychosocial styles of adolescent participants.

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