Elementary School Students' Self-Determination and Attitudes Toward Physical Activity

Background/Purpose: Regular physical activity plays an essential role in preventing childhood obesity. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985) as a theoretical framework, this study aimed to examine the relationship between three psychological needs satisfaction, motivational regulations in physical education, and attitudes toward participation in leisure-time physical activity in elementary school students.

Method: One thousand and seventy-three 3^rd-5^th grade students (Mean = 9.29 age  .83 SD, 90.6% Caucasian) who returned a consent form signed by their parent(s)/guardian(s) anonymously and voluntarily completed three measures during a regular physical education lesson. Items of the measures including Psychological Needs Satisfaction (PNS), Motivational Regulations (MR), and Motivational Affective Consequence (MAC) were modified from three respective validated questionnaires designed by Ntoumanis (2001), Goudas, Biddle, and Fox (1994), and Ajzen’s (2004). The modified three measures were then judged by nine elementary physical education teachers (6 females and 3 males) who did not participate in this study. Based on the expert panel’s specific comments/edits, items of the three measures were revised and finalized. The students’ perceived competence, perceived autonomy, and perceived relatedness in physical education were measured using the 9-item PNS questionnaire with a 5-point rating scale. The students’ motivational regulations were assessed using the 15-item MR questionnaire with a 5-point rating scale. The participants’ attitudes toward participation in physical activity were assessed using MAC semantic differential scale with one stem and three bipolar adjectives anchored on a 5-point rating scale.

Analysis/Results: The composite reliability coefficients of nine sub-scales within the three measures were above .60, ranging from .62 to .79. The multiple fit indices indicated that the hypothesized structural model had an excellent fit to the data (X² = 542.81, df = 291, X² /df = 1.87, CFI = .99, IFI=.99, NNFI = .99, RMSEA = .028, SRMR = .049). The results of structural equation model indicated that students’ perceived competence, perceived relatedness, and perceived autonomy were highly associated with autonomous motivation and moderately associated with introjected regulation, but not related to external regulation and amotivation. Students’ intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, and introjected regulation were positively associated with attitudes toward physical activity. Amotivation was negatively related to the attitudes.

Conclusions: Elementary school students' satisfactions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness were significant predictors of autonomous motivation in physical education settings. Students' having fun, obtaining benefits, and being with friends were all major motivational factors enhancing their positive attitudes toward participation in physical activity.