The role of goal orientations, perceived ability, and situational factors in determining participation motivation in young athletes

Presently within youth sport a paradox exists. Large numbers of young athletes who value sport participation are, for some reason, dropping out of sport programs. Recent theoretical developments suggest that our understanding of participation motivation may be increased if an individual's behavioral goals and perceptions of the situation are identified, the assumption being that motivation results from an interaction between both person variables (e.g., achievement goals, expectations) and situational determinants (e.g., task design, social-cultural context). The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between goal orientations, (e.g., ability, task, social approved goals), perceived ability and perceptions of the situation. This study investigated how changes in this relationship affect motivational affect (expressed) satisfaction. The study was conducted over the course of a competitive season and eleven hypotheses were tested. The subjects assessed were 334 male soccer players ranging in age from 8 to 17 years. During the course of the season subjects completed a questionnaire on three occasions (pre-season, mid-season and post-season). The results revealed strong support for the existence of multiple achievement goal orientations. Contrary to expectations the mastery goal was rated higher than ability and social approval goals. The results also indicated that ability-oriented individuals attributed their success in sport to ability. Due to insufficient numbers it was not possible to test all eleven hypotheses. However, support was obtained for the theoretical approaches of both Maehr and Nicholls. It was evident from the results of this study that perceptions of the situation influenced motivation considerably.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio