Influences of perceived sport competence on physical activity enjoyment in early adolescents

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Stefano Scarpa
Alessandra Nart
Cite this article:  Scarpa, S., & Nart, A. (2012). Influences of perceived sport competence on physical activity enjoyment in early adolescents. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 40(2), 203-204.


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In the sport and physical activity (PA) field, enjoyment is a positive affective response to the sport experience (Scanlan & Simons, 1992) and it can also be considered an important factor in promoting active lifestyles and regular PA among school-aged children (Carraro, Young, & Robazza, 2008). Although PA enjoyment depends primarily on intrinsic factors, sport competence may influence PA enjoyment (Carroll & Loumidis, 2003). We investigated the effects of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment, initially expecting that perceived sport competence could be predictive of high levels of PA enjoyment. At present, there are no studies in which the influences of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment have been examined with Italian adolescents. A review revealed that the sport literature features only one study on this topic conducted with English children (Biddle, Wang, Chatzisarantis, & Spray, 2003) in which it was found that levels of sport competence did not seem to influence their levels of enjoyment. This study was carried out to increase the existing body of knowledge about the relationship between perceived sport competence and enjoyment.

In the sport and physical activity (PA) field, enjoyment is a positive affective response to the sport experience (Scanlan & Simons, 1992) and it can also be considered an important factor in promoting active lifestyles and regular PA among school-aged children (Carraro, Young, & Robazza, 2008). Although PA enjoyment depends primarily on intrinsic factors, sport competence may influence PA enjoyment (Carroll & Loumidis, 2003). We investigated the effects of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment, initially expecting that perceived sport competence could be predictive of high levels of PA enjoyment. At present, there are no studies in which the influences of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment have been examined with Italian adolescents. A review revealed that the sport literature features only one study on this topic conducted with English children (Biddle, Wang, Chatzisarantis, & Spray, 2003) in which it was found that levels of sport competence did not seem to influence their levels of enjoyment. This study was carried out to increase the existing body of knowledge about the relationship between perceived sport competence and enjoyment.

Participants were 394 pupils (173 boys and 221 girls) aged between 12 and 13 years (M = 12.2) and recruited from a number of schools located in a northeastern region of Italy. They completed an Italian version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES; Carraro et al., 2008) and the Physical Self Description Questionnaire-Short (PSDQ-S; Marsh, 1996). The Italian version of the PSDQ-S (Scarpa, Gobbi, Paggiaro, & Carraro, 2010) contains five factors of physical self-concept which are used to assess perceived sport competence: endurance, flexibility, strength, coordination, and sport skill.

Questionnaires were completed in groups in the classroom. All respondents and their parents gave their informed consent and were assured that individual data would be kept confidential.

Pearson’s correlation test was used to measure the association between variables. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between PSDQ-S scores (independent variables) and PACES total score (dependent variable). Pearson’s correlation test revealed the following positive associations between PSDQ-S variables and PACES total score: endurance (r = .527, p < .001); flexibility (r = .206, p < .001); strength (r = .365, p < .001); coordination (r = .427, p < .001); sport skill (r = .546, p < .001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed the following score indices: SE = 7.76; t = 20.79; R2 = .363; F(5, 388) = 44.13; p < .001.

Our results highlighted positive associations between physical self-concept scales and PA enjoyment, and our hypothesis that perceived sport competence can be considered a good predictor of PA enjoyment was confirmed. The results could contribute to our understanding of the processes involved in the promotion of active lifestyles and regular PA among young people.

References

Biddle, S. J., Wang, C. K., Chatzisarantis, N. L., & Spray, C. M. (2003). Motivation for physical activity in young people: Entity and incremental beliefs about athletic ability. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 973-989. http://doi.org/gr9

Carraro, A., Young M. C., & Robazza, C. (2008). A contribution to the validation of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale in an Italian sample. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 36, 911-918. http://doi.org/ct6

Carroll, B., & Loumidis, J. (2003). Children’s perceived competence and enjoyment in physical education and physical activity outside school. European Physical Education Review, 7, 24-43. http://doi.org/gkf

Marsh, H. W. (1996). Construct validity of Physical Self-Description Questionnaire response: Relations to external criteria. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 18, 111-131.

Scanlan, T. K., & Simons, J. P. (1992). The construct of sport enjoyment. In G. C. Roberts (Ed.), Motivation in sport and exercise (pp. 199-215). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.

Scarpa, S., Gobbi, E., Paggiaro, A., & Carraro, A. (2010). Un contributo alla validazione italiana del Physical Self-Description Questionnaire Short [A contribution to the Italian validation of the Physical Self-description Questionnaire Short]. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dello Sport, 8, 25-31.

Biddle, S. J., Wang, C. K., Chatzisarantis, N. L., & Spray, C. M. (2003). Motivation for physical activity in young people: Entity and incremental beliefs about athletic ability. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 973-989. http://doi.org/gr9

Carraro, A., Young M. C., & Robazza, C. (2008). A contribution to the validation of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale in an Italian sample. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 36, 911-918. http://doi.org/ct6

Carroll, B., & Loumidis, J. (2003). Children’s perceived competence and enjoyment in physical education and physical activity outside school. European Physical Education Review, 7, 24-43. http://doi.org/gkf

Marsh, H. W. (1996). Construct validity of Physical Self-Description Questionnaire response: Relations to external criteria. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 18, 111-131.

Scanlan, T. K., & Simons, J. P. (1992). The construct of sport enjoyment. In G. C. Roberts (Ed.), Motivation in sport and exercise (pp. 199-215). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.

Scarpa, S., Gobbi, E., Paggiaro, A., & Carraro, A. (2010). Un contributo alla validazione italiana del Physical Self-Description Questionnaire Short [A contribution to the Italian validation of the Physical Self-description Questionnaire Short]. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dello Sport, 8, 25-31.

Stefano Scarpa, Department of Educational Sciences, University of Padua, Via Beato Pellegrino 28, 35137 Padova, Italy. Email: [email protected]

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