Previous research indicates that perceived competence in motor skills and activity has been identified as a major correlate of physical activity (PA) (Sallis, Prochaska, & Taylor, 2000). In addition, perceived competence is significantly associated with PA among children and adolescents (e.g., Paxton, Estabrook, & Dzewaltowski, 2004). However, little is known about relationships between perceived competence in lifelong activity and preference of specific lifelong activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity, perceived competence of lifelong activity and preferences of selected lifelong activity among college students.
Method:
Participants were 152 college students (80 males, 72 females; M = 23.5, SD = 5.42) in a university located in central California. The participants completed surveys assessing their PA level, perceived competence in lifelong activity and preferences of selected lifelong activity. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Ainsworth et al., 2006) was used to measure PA level. The perceived competence, the 7-point Likert subscale, was adapted from the literature (Williams & Deci, 1996) assessing perception of competence in selected lifelong activities (i.e., basketball, bike, golf, swimming, tennis, and weightlifting). Additionally, self-developed and 5-point Likert subscales on preferences in selected lifelong activities were included in the survey.
Analysis/Results:
The reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) for the perceived competence was .77 and for the preference of lifelong activity was .75. Results indicated that perceived competence in bicycling scored highest (M = 6.43; SD = 1.16), next swimming (M = 5.61; SD = 1.48), and then weightlifting (M = 5.54; SD = 1.77). In the preference of lifelong activities, bicycling also scored highest (M = 3.93.43; SD = 1.21), next swimming (M = 3.87; SD = 1.18), and then weightlifting (M = 3.71; SD = 1.34). PA was significantly associated with perceived competence in weightlifting (r = .38; p < .01), and preference in weightlifting (r = .40; p < .01), respectively. Perceived competences in lifelong activities were significantly related to the preferences of lifelong activities (p < .01), with r values ranging from .44 to .67 for each activity (basketball, bike, golf, swimming, tennis, and weightlifting).
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that perceived motor competences are significantly associated with preference of lifelong activities. This may imply that improvement of perceived competence in lifelong activities would be beneficial to promote PA among college students.