Motives for sports practice in young soccer and volleyball athletes

Abstract The reasons why athletes, especially young people, seek to adhere to sports practice has aroused the interest of research. The aim of this study was to identify the reasons for the sports practice of young soccer and volleyball athletes according to gender, age, family economic class, practice time and level of competitiveness. 188 athletes, 56 volleyball athletes and 132 soccer players aged 10-16 participated in the study. The reasons for the sport were identified through the Participation Motivation Questionnaire (PMQ). The data were analyzed through Covariance Analysis. The results indicated that, in general, the most important reason for sports practice was "Technical Competence" (4.51±0.54), followed by factors of intermediate importance: "Competition" (4.30±0.73), "Group Activity" (4.29±0.71) and "Physical Fitness" (4.25±0.64). Low-income families (C) attributed greater importance to the motivation factors related to "Social Recognition" and "Group Activity". Athletes with lower practice time conceded less relevance to "Group Activity" and "Affiliation", while those with a national competitive level demonstrated greater importance to all motivation factors, with the exception of "Competition." Young athletes have been motivated to practice sports, especially for reasons related to self-realization, improvement of technical skills and overcoming challenges. Differences were also identified between family economic class groups, practice time and competitive level in the motivation factors for sports practice.

摘要：运动员（尤其是青少年群体）坚持体育锻炼的动因，引发了学界的研究兴趣。本研究旨在结合性别、年龄、家庭经济阶层、锻炼时长及竞技水平等维度，剖析青少年足球与排球运动员参与体育锻炼的动因。本研究共招募188名青少年运动员参与，其中排球运动员56名、足球运动员132名，年龄介于10至16岁之间。研究采用参与动机问卷（Participation Motivation Questionnaire, PMQ）收集运动员参与体育锻炼的动因数据，并采用协方差分析对采集到的数据进行统计分析。研究结果显示，整体而言，青少年运动员参与体育锻炼的首要动因是“技术能力”（4.51±0.54），其次为三类中等重要性的动因：“竞技参赛”（4.30±0.73）、“集体活动”（4.29±0.71）与“身体素质提升”（4.25±0.64）。来自低收入家庭（C类）的运动员对“社会认同”与“集体活动”相关的动机因素更为重视。锻炼时长较短的运动员对“集体活动”与“归属需求”的重视程度更低；而具备全国竞技水平的运动员则对除“竞技参赛”外的所有动机因素均表现出更高的重视程度。青少年运动员参与体育锻炼的动机多与自我实现、技术技能提升及挑战克服相关。不同家庭经济阶层、锻炼时长及竞技水平的青少年运动员，在体育锻炼动机因素上亦存在显著差异。