As efforts to promote greater participation in physical activity among adults
have focussed on targeting childhood patterns of physical activity, it is important to
evaluate the assumed relationship between childhood and adulthood patterns of
physical activity. In the studies in this thesis an examination was made of whether
adult motivation to engage in physical activity is influenced by the perceived quality
of experiences with sports participation in childhood and adolescence.
In a pilot study, a measure of perceived quality of childhood and adolescent
sports participation experiences was developed. Young adults were asked by
questionnaire to rate their childhood and adolescent sports participation experiences
on a variety of items. From these responses, measures of the quality of childhood and
adolescent sports participation experiences were validated with confirmatory factor
analyses.
In the main study, the measure of adolescent sports participation experiences
was incorporated into a second questionnaire along with other measures of adult
motivation towards, and participation in, physical activity. The theoretical framework
of Personal Investment Theory (PIT, Maehr & Braskamp, 1986) guided the design of
this study. PIT proposes that individuals are motivated to participate in physical
activity based on what they hope to gain from participation, their beliefs about
themselves and their perceptions of opportunities for participation. This motivation
is, in turn, influenced by a number of other personal and situational factors, such as
prior personal experiences with sports participation.
The results of correlation and structural equation modelling analyses
suggested that the direct influence of the perceived quality of adolescent sports
participation experiences on the level of adult involvement in physical activity is
relatively weak. Structural equation modelling analyses indicated that this
relationship is mediated by some of these other motivational variables in PIT. These
were individuals. perceptions of their physical competence and personal control over
their physical activity behaviour, as well as the tendency to set physical activity goals
and to seek intrinsic motives for physical activity, such as skill improvement or
enjoyment. Although the quality of sports participation experiences also influenced
perceptions about the impact of potential barriers on activity in adulthood, such
perceptions did not relate to the actual level of activity of these adults.
The perceived quality of adolescent sports participation experiences also
influenced the type of physical activity engaged in as an adult, with more negative
memories of sports participation being associated with taking part in non-sport-related
physical activities in adulthood. In conclusion, application of PIT, along with the use
of structural equation modelling, provided valuable insight into how the quality of
adolescent sports participation experiences influences adult physical activity
behaviour.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216574 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Abbott, Jo-Anne, jomabbott@yahoo.com.au |
| Publisher | Swinburne University of Technology. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.swin.edu.au/), Copyright Jo-Anne Abbott |
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