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Children's Physical Self-Concept, Motivation, and Physical Performance: Does Physical Self-Concept or Motivation Play a Mediating Role?
- Source :
-
Frontiers in psychology [Front Psychol] 2021 Apr 30; Vol. 12, pp. 669936. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 30 (Print Publication: 2021). - Publication Year :
- 2021
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Abstract
- The present study aimed to examine the relations between physical self-concept, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as physical performance of 1,082 children aged 7-8 years. The central objective of this study was to contrast a mediation model assuming physical self-concept as a mediator of the relations between both types of motivation and physical performance to a mediation model assuming both types of motivation as mediators of the relations between physical self-concept and physical performance. Physical self-concept and both types of motivation were measured by using self-reported questionnaires, while physical performance was measured with 10 motor skill tests. All tests were carried out during regular school hours (8-12 A.M.) by qualified test personnel. Beyond correlation analyses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to find evidence for the predictive relations between the variables under study. Results showed that physical self-concept was significantly positively related to both types of motivation and physical performance (all p < 0.001). In contrast, results of SEM revealed that only physical self-concept ( p < 0.001) and intrinsic motivation ( p < 0.05) were significantly positively linked to physical performance. Furthermore, physical self-concept proved to significantly mediate the relations of both types of motivation to physical performance ( p < 0.001), while only intrinsic motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, proved to significantly mediate the relation between physical self-concept and physical performance ( p < 0.05). These results suggest that school-based or extracurricular interventions targeted at improving younger children's physical performance only by means of an increased level of physical activity or by external factors without supporting children's physical self-concept and intrinsic motivation may have less or no effects on their physical performance.<br />Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.<br /> (Copyright © 2021 Lohbeck, von Keitz, Hohmann and Daseking.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1664-1078
- Volume :
- 12
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Frontiers in psychology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 33995228
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669936