Abstract
This study investigated gender, age group and locality differences in adolescent athletes’ self-determination motivation and goal orientations in track and field. It also examined the relationship between the self-determination theory and achievement goal theory. A total of 632 (349 boys, 283 girls) adolescent athletes (aged 13–18 years) completed the Sports Motivation Scale and Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire. Results indicated significant differences between gender on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation (t(630) = 4.10, p < 0.05) and ego orientation (t(630) = 2.48, p < 0.05). Male students reported higher intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation and ego orientation. A significant difference was found between age groups on task orientation (t(630) = 1.94, p < 0.05) and locality on ego orientation (t(630) = 1.94, p < 0.05). Older athletes showed significantly higher task orientation. Rural athletes had higher ego orientation whereas urban athletes have higher intrinsic motivation. Task orientation was related to intrinsic motivation (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), extrinsic motivation (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), but weakly related to amotivation (r = 0.10, p < 0.01). Ego orientation was related to intrinsic motivation (r = 0.30, p < 0.01), extrinsic motivation (r = 0.36, p < 0.01) and amotivaion (r = 0.36, p < 0.01). Task orientation was related to ego orientation (r = 0.29, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation accounted for 30.5% of the variances in task orientation.
Highlights
Motivation plays a vital role in sports as it influences why and how athletes engage in the activities they choose, affecting the quality of their engagement and the outcome of their effort
This study showed that older adolescent athletes were more task-oriented than younger adolescent athletes
One explanation could be the endorsement of a task goal orientation which is related to ability
Summary
Motivation plays a vital role in sports as it influences why and how athletes engage in the activities they choose, affecting the quality of their engagement and the outcome of their effort. The self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985) is a contemporary framework that is increasingly used to understand motivation in the sports and physical education domains. The different motivational orientations serve as stimuli to act. Motivational orientations differ in the extent to which they are self-determined, or emanate from one's personal interests and values (Ryan and Deci, 2000). The selfdetermination theory categorizes motivation into three types namely intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation to account for the different reasons why individuals engage in activities (Deci and Ryan, 1985). Intrinsic motivation means engaging in activities for their own sake, namely for the feelings of pleasure, interest, and satisfaction that is directly derived from participation.
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