Options
Motivations for adolescent participation in leisure-time physical activity : cross-country differences and intervention implications
Iannotti, Ronald J. | National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USA |
Chen, Rusan | Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, Georgetown University, Washington |
Kololo, Hanna | Zakład Epidemiologii Instytutu Matki i Dziecka, Warszawa |
Komkov, Alexander | Nenurodyta |
Piette, Danielle | Ecole de santé publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgique |
Henrickson, Pia Elena | Nenurodyta |
Petronytė, Gintarė | Kauno medicinos universiteto Biomedicininių tyrimų institutas |
Roberts, Chris | Department of Radiation Oncology, University Health Network, Princess Margaret Hospital |
| Date Issued |
|---|
2008 |
Purpose: To examine cross-country similarities and differences in motivations for adolescent physical activity (PA) and age and gender differences within and across countries. Methods: Essentially identical questions and methodologies were used to survey students ages 11, 13 and 15 in nationally-representative cross-sectional samples of seven countries participating in the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey representing Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the US. Three items assessed PA and a 13-item scale assessed motivations for PA. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine regional differences in predicting PA as well as gender and age differences across regions. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses identified three motivational factors: health and appearance, social and personal pleasure, and achievement. Achievement and social and personal pleasure were significant predictors of PA in all three regions; health and appearance did not predict PA in the US sample. A striking finding was that, after adjusting for achievement and social and personal pleasure, health and appearance did not appear to be a motivator for PA in girls. Achievement was a more consistent motivator across regions for older children while social and personal pleasure was a predictor across regions in both older and younger children. Conclusions: The motivation scale appears to have value in predicting PA across different cultures, genders and ages. Reliance on health messages as the primary motivation for increasing PA may be misplaced. However, group-specific predictions of PA suggest intervention efforts that target specific motivations tailored to age, gender, and region of the group.