Motivational predictors of physical education students' effort, exercise intentions, and leisure-time physical activity: a multilevel linear growth analysis

J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2010 Feb;32(1):99-120. doi: 10.1123/jsep.32.1.99.

Abstract

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), the current study explored whether physical education (PE) students' psychological needs and their motivational regulations toward PE predicted mean differences and changes in effort in PE, exercise intentions, and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over the course of one UK school trimester. One hundred and seventy-eight students (69% male) aged between 11 and 16 years completed a multisection questionnaire at the beginning, middle, and end of a school trimester. Multilevel growth models revealed that students' perceived competence and self-determined regulations were the most consistent predictors of the outcome variables at the within- and between-person levels. The results of this work add to the extant SDT-based literature by examining change in PE students' motivational regulations and psychological needs, as well as underscoring the importance of disaggregating within- and between-student effects.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology
  • Child
  • Child Behavior / psychology
  • Exercise / physiology
  • Exercise / psychology*
  • Female
  • Health Behavior
  • Humans
  • Intention*
  • Leisure Activities / psychology*
  • Linear Models
  • Male
  • Motivation / physiology*
  • Motor Activity / physiology*
  • Multilevel Analysis / methods
  • Personal Satisfaction
  • Physical Education and Training / methods
  • Physical Education and Training / statistics & numerical data*
  • Physical Exertion / physiology
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Students / psychology
  • Students / statistics & numerical data
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United Kingdom