Motivation for Sport Persistence: An Empirical Examination of Underlying Theoretical Constructs

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the motives interscholastic sport participants have for sport participation and withdrawal. Particular emphasis was placed on an independent and simultaneous examination of the theoretical constructs of achievement goal orientations, perceived ability, and perceived costs-benefits of involvement to explain short persistence/withdrawal with four general purposes. These included (a) an examination of the relationship between goal orientations and sport persistence/withdrawal, (b) an examination of the relationship between perceived ability and sport persistence/withdrawal, (c) an inquiry into the relationship between an athlete's perceived costs-benefits of involvement and sport persistence/withdrawal, and (d) a test of a composite model which integrated the previous theoretical constructs as predictors of sport persistence. The subjects assessed were 557 athletes involved in interscholastic sports and ranged in age from 13 to 18 years. During the course of the season, subjects completed an Interscholastic Sport Questionnaire on three separate occasions. Then at the completion of the season, the subjects were classified as starters, nonstarters, survivors, dropouts, and cuttees to determine if differences existed among these groups on the multiple measures assessed over the three assessments. Independent examination of the theoretical construct findings revealed (a) strong support for the existence of multiple achievement goal orientations, with achievement goal orientations discriminating among the groups after the individuals have been involved in the sport, but showing no relationship to sport persistence; (b) differences existed among the groups on the self-rating of ability, with these differences remaining consistent over the course of the season; and (c) a significant relationship emerged between the costs-benefits of involvement measure (i.e., overall satisfaction) and the persistence categories--indicating that sport persistence/withdrawal is not simply a rewards-minus-costs evaluation. The simultaneous examination of causal relationships among the theoretical constructs and sport persistence indicated that perceived ability had the greatest influence (both direct and indirect) on sport persistence. The results also suggest that the process underlying sport persistence is more complex than the causal structure depicted in the composite model of sport persistence.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Kinesiology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Petlichkoff, Linda Marie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gould, Daniel R.

• Education, Physical

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8815403

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/71079