Motives for participation and their relationship to perceived competence
Date
2000
Authors
Charles, Makepeace
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to a) examine the sport participation motives of adolescents and b) to compare these motives in adolescents of high, medium and low perceived competence; c) to compare the motives identified by adolescents aged 11-16 years and 17-19 years; d) to compare the motives for participation of males and females. Data was collected from 194 male and female athletes involved in a variety of sports. Subjects were asked to complete the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1988) and the Participation Motivation Inventory (Gould, Feltz & Weiss, 1985). Using factor analysis five general motives for participation were revealed in the sample population. These motives were personal and physical development, social status/recognition, affiliation, energy release, and competition and excitement. Based on analyses of variance five findings resulted: a) high global perceived competence adolescents were more motivated by personal and physical development than their middle and low competence counterparts; b) high global perceived competence adolescents were least motivated by social status/recognition followed by the middle and low competence groups respectively; c) high social and physical perceived competence adolescents rated personal and physical development as a more significant motivator than their middle and low perceived competence counterparts; d) males are more motivated by social status/recognition than females; e) there were no differences in the participation motive preferences of adolescents aged 14- 16yrs and 17- 19yrs. These results are discussed in terms of their congruency with the literature and their impact on sport programs of the future.