Sport Motivation from the Perspective of Health, Institutional Embeddedness and Academic Persistence among Higher Educational Students

Karolina Eszter Kovács; Klára Kovács; Fruzsina Szabó; Beáta Andrea Dan; Zsolt Szakál; Marianna Moravecz; Dániel Szabó; Tímea Olajos; Csilla Csukonyi; Dávid Papp; Balázs Őrsi; Gabriella Pusztai

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127423

Sport Motivation from the Perspective of Health, Institutional Embeddedness and Academic Persistence among Higher Educational Students

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 16;19(12):7423. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127423.

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
² Institute of Educational Sciences and Cultural Management, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
³ Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
⁴ Doctoral Program on Educational Sciences, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
⁵ Kölcsey Ferenc Teacher Training Institute, Debrecen Reformed Theological University, 4026 Debrecen, Hungary.
⁶ Physical Education and Sport Science Institute, University of Nyíregyháza, 4400 Nyíregyháza, Hungary.

Abstract

Regular physical activity from an early age is an important part of a healthy life because if we incorporate exercise early into our lifestyle, we are more likely to maintain our commitment to sport into adulthood and even throughout our lives. In our research, we used the PERSIST 2019 database, which contains data from students at higher education institutions in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, and Serbia. We used factor analysis to isolate four sports motivation factors (intrinsic, introjected, extrinsic, and amotivation). Factors influencing the different types were measured using linear regression analysis, involving the variables in four models. The results show that the effects of the sociodemographic variables are significant for gender, country, and mother's job, especially in terms of intrinsic, introjected, and extrinsic motivation. The role of coping is salient for health awareness factors, with a positive effect on intrinsic motivation and a negative effect on the other types. The impacts of quality of education and support are typically negative, while the positive effect of satisfaction with infrastructure is noteworthy. The effect of persistence in sport on intrinsic and introjected motivation is positive. Frequency of training increases intrinsic motivation, while practical sport embeddedness generates extrinsic motivation. In terms of relationships, a mainly teacher-oriented network within the institution typically has a negative effect on intrinsic motivation, while peer relationships outside the institution typically increase intrinsic and extrinsic sport motivation. Academic persistence has a positive effect on intrinsic motivation and a negative effect on introjected motivation. Our research highlights the complexity of factors influencing sport motivation and the role of coping, which typically remains strong when relationship-related variables are included. In addition, we must emphasise the dominant role of relationship network patterns, which may even reduce commitment to sport.

Keywords: health; higher education; persistence; relationship network; sport motivation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Educational Status
Humans
Motivation*
Sports*
Students
Universities

Grants and funding

This research is project no. 123847, supported through the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed from the K–17 application program. The project is also supported by the ÚNKP-21-3-1 new national excellence program of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology from the National Research, Development, and Innovation Fund. The publication was supported by the University of Debrecen Faculty of Humanities Scholarly Fund.