Motivating children and adolescents to develop a physically active lifestyle: the role of extracurricular school-based sports and motor competence

Despite the positive short- and long-term health effects of regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), the majority of children and adolescents worldwide do not meet the international recommendation of at least 60 min of MVPA per day. MVPA levels and participation rates in sports are globally declining, especially during adolescence. Hence, the overall aim of this dissertation was to investigate how children and adolescents can be motivated to develop an active lifestyle. More specifically, we looked into the role of a behavior setting (i.e., extracurricular school-based sports) and several intrapersonal factors (i.e., actual and perceived motor competence). In the first part of the original research included in this dissertation (chapters 1.1 and 1.2), we examined how extracurricular school-based sports might contribute to the development of an active lifestyle, especially in children and adolescents who are not active in community sports activities and/or have an inactive lifestyle. The studies among Flemish children (in late childhood) and adolescents revealed that approximately three quarters of the children (76%) and about 29% of the adolescents participated at least once per year in extracurricular school-based sports. Participation rates of youngsters at risk for an inactive lifestyle were encouraging with respectively 65% and 20% of the children and adolescents without community sports membership participating, and 68% of the girls in late childhood and 22% of the female adolescents. Furthermore, the results indicated that extracurricular school-based sports participants were more physically active and more autonomously motivated towards sports than their non-participating peers. Higher participation rates, especially among youngsters at risk for an inactive lifestyle, may thus contribute to more children and adolescents obtaining the health-related recommendations of at least 60 min of MVPA per day, and developing more autonomous forms of motivation towards sports. To obtain higher participation rates, it is recommended that more schools adopt an extracurricular school-based sports program and that the existing programs are further optimized and adapted to the youngsters' interests. In the second part of the original research included in this dissertation (chapters 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5), the conceptual model (developed by Stodden et al., 2008) that outlines relationships between motor competence and physical activity across childhood was, in the context of this dissertation, used as a framework to examine the role of motor competence. Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), a broad theory on human motivation, was used as a framework to examine the relationships between motor competence, autonomous motivation and physical activity. We examined (1) how actual and perceived motor competence relate to each other, (2) how actual and perceived motor competence (separately and combined) relate to physical activity engagement, (3) how children's and adolescents' actual and perceived motor competence (separately and combined) relate to autonomous motivation towards physical education and sports, and (4) how all underlying mechanisms of physical activity as described by the conceptual model (i.e., actual and perceived motor competence) and Self-Determination Theory (i.e., competence satisfaction and autonomous motivation for sports) interact and predict sports participation. These research questions were addressed in a sample of American children in middle and late childhood, in two different samples of Flemish children in middle and late childhood, and in a sample of Flemish adolescents. The results indicated overall positive, small to moderate, correlations between actual and perceived motor competence while person-centered analyses showed that youngsters with similar actual motor competence levels could substantially differ in the degree to which they perceive themselves as competent. Actual and perceived motor competence were positively related to children's and adolescents' physical activity levels with a minimal level of actual motor competence being a prerequisite for children to develop and/or maintain a physically active lifestyle. Children and adolescents combining relatively low levels of actual motor competence with relatively low levels of perceived motor competence were in general the least physically active while their peers with relatively high levels of actual and perceived motor competence were overall the most physically active. Actual and perceived motor competence were also found to positively relate to youngsters' levels of autonomous motivation towards physical education and/or sports. The combination of relatively low levels of actual motor competence and relatively low levels of perceived motor competence was also in relation to autonomous motivation the least beneficial profile. Furthermore, we found correlational support for the underlying pathways of physical activity as proposed by the conceptual model (Stodden et al., 2008) and Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000). However, when simultaneously investigating the mediating role of perceived motor competence, competence satisfaction, and autonomous motivation in the relationship between youngsters' actual motor competence and sports participation, only perceived motor competence was found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between actual motor competence and sports participation. In conclusion, it is important to foster both actual and perceived motor competence in children and adolescents. Actual motor competence can be improved through participation in organized movement activities from an early age on, while perceived motor competence can be enhanced through autonomy and competence supportive teaching practices and differentiated instruction.

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