The role of dispositional factors achievement goals and volition in the formation of athletic identity people with physical disability

Abstract

Introduction: According to cognitive identity theory internal components can be likely to influence athletic identity formation. The purpose of the present study was to examine relationship between athletic identity of people with physical disabilities and goal perspectives (task and ego) and volitional competences (persistence, purposefulness and expedience). Material and methods: The participants were 134 people with physical disability (n=103 men, and n=31 women). Their age ranging from 14 to 67 years (M=34.98, SD=10.59). All participants participated in physical activities (competitive and recreational). The subjects filled in three questionnaires: Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), Task and Ego Orientation in Sports Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and Measure Athletes’ Volition – Short (MAV-S). Results: The results revealed that goal orientations and volitional competencies can be predictors of athletic identity dimensions for people with disabilities participating in physical activities. In addition, they suggested that task orientation predicts the three identities (social β=0.43, exclusivity β=0.31 and negative affectivity β=0.38), purposefulness competence predicts two identities (social β=0.34 and exclusivity β=0.30), while persistence competence predicts the negative affectivity identity (β=0.49). Conclusions: In conclusion, dispositional factors achievement goals and volitional competencies can be predicting the athletic identity dimensions.