What do adolescents and young adults strive for in sport and exercise? An explorative study on goal profiles in sport and exercise

Abstract

ABSTRACT In sport and exercise promotion, it is important to consider goals because achieving these goals leads to a sense of well-being and behaviour adherence. Individuals often pursue multiple goals simultaneously. Therefore, it is also important to not only consider each individual’s combination of goals but also to identify so-called “goal profiles”. Taking a developmental-psychological perspective, the goal profiles of adolescents may differ from those of young adults. Furthermore, goal profiles might differ concerning the self-determined motivation, sport and exercise behaviour, and gender. Therefore, both age groups, 966 adolescents and 636 young adults, were questioned by self-report on their goals in sport and exercise, self-determined motivation, sport and exercise behaviour, and gender. A multiple-group-analysis for latent-profile-solutions was conducted resulting in six goal profiles for both age groups. As expected, the shape of these profiles differed qualitatively for the majority of adolescents and young adults: In adolescents, goals such as contact and the perception of challenge were more prominent, whereas in young adults, health, figure/appearance, and distraction/catharsis were dominant. Validation analyses support the profiles identified as they differ in self-determined motivation, sport and exercise behaviour, and gender. To more efficiently tailor interventions, an age-specific focus on goal profiles seems promising.