Motives for adult sport participation.

Continued physical activity throughout the adult years is a desirable goal. An improved quality of life and better health are the results of a physically active lifestyle. It is important as physical educators to understand the needs and motives of the adult population in order to meet their needs when conducting exercise programs and motivating adults to begin or maintain a physically active way of life. This study was an attempt to discover some of the motives responsible for adult participation in recreational sport. A questionnaire was developed to investigate possible participation motives. Thirty-seven men and forty-five women players in the Windsor Adult Mixed Volleyball League completed the questionnaire in addition providing information regarding relationship status and childcare responsibilities. Results identified five emerging motives for sport participation: sport improvement, competition, fitness, affiliation and stress reduction. Fitness and stress reduction were the strongest motives for adult participation in this group of adults. No statistically significant differences were found between the men and the women on any of the motives except stress reduction. Women rated this motive as more important than did men. No statistically significant differences were found between the adults with childcare responsibilities and those without those responsibilities. Also relationship status had no statistical significance when rating participation motives. These findings suggest that adults, regardless of gender and family status, are motivated to participate in recreational sport by a desire to maintain or increase physical fitness levels and as a means of stress reduction. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .M54. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0398. Adviser: John Corlett. Thesis (M.H.K.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998