Have, L. ten (Lianne) (2020) Association between physical activity levels and autonomous motivation in adolescents during physical education. thesis, Sport Sciences.
Full text available on request.Abstract
INTRODUCTION An enormous decline in physical activity (PA) and increase in sedentary behavior (SB) is observed in adolescents over the past decade. Physical education (PE) provides an opportunity for adolescents to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during lessons. The percentage MVPA obtained during PE lessons varies between 17.1-63.1 for students in Dutch secondary schools. One of the key factors in explaining this variation might be motivation, as suggested by the Self-Determination Theory. The first aim of this study was to examine PA levels and levels of autonomous motivation during two types of PE lessons (circuit and game) by gender and educational level in adolescents. The second aim was to investigate the association between PA levels and autonomous motivation, and the third aim was to examine the possible moderating effects of gender and educational level on this association. METHOD Participants in this study were students (n=244, mean age = 13.4 ± 0.38 years old) from twelve classes (US eighth grade) in the northern part of the Netherlands with varying educational levels (VMBO n=50, HAVO n=122, VWO n=72). Boys and girls participated, (47.95 percent and 52.05 percent respectively) in this study with a cross-sectional design. Data on PA levels (%SB, %MVPA, total PA) were obtained using accelerometry (Actigraph, GT3X), and an adapted version of the Behavioral Regulations in Physical Education Questionnaire (BRPEQ) was used to assess autonomous motivation. The effect of type of lesson was examined using a repeated measures analysis of variance with type of lesson as dependent variable. Six separate linear multiple regressions were performed to investigate the association between PA levels and autonomous motivation and the possible mediating effects of gender and educational level on this association. RESULTS The mean MVPA percentage was 53.3 ± 9.7 and 53.6 ± 13.7 for the circuit and game lesson, respectively. Boys showed higher %MVPA and total PA for both lessons. The level of autonomous motivation was fairly similar for both lessons (25.2 vs. 25.8). Type of lesson significantly affected total PA, there were higher scores for the game lesson. Type of lesson by gender affected all PA levels and autonomous motivation. Boys were more active during the game lesson, and girls were more sedentary. Girls’ autonomous motivation was higher for the circuit lesson. There was an association between PA levels and autonomous motivation for the game lesson, no contribution of autonomous motivation to the circuit lesson. There were no moderating effects of gender or educational level on this association found. CONCLUSION This study extended the knowledge on %SB, %MVPA and total PA of adolescents during PE. An association between PA levels and autonomous motivation was found for the game lesson, this was not true for the circuit lesson. Gender and educational level did not moderate the association between PA levels and autonomous motivation. Although, gender and educational level affected PA levels. Future research should look into the possible underlying mechanisms of motivation for PE and PA in general, while taking gender and educational level differences into account. KEYWORDS self-determination theory, secondary school, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sedentary behavior, accelerometry
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Hartman, dr. E. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 18 May 2022 09:53 |
| Last Modified: | 18 May 2022 09:53 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3352 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |