Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 67, October 2014, Pages 270-279
Preventive Medicine

Review
Self-determined motivation and physical activity in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.07.033Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

Self-determination theory is used as a framework for examining the relation between motivation and physical activity. The purpose of this review was to systematically review studies that assessed the association between self-determined motivation and physical activity levels in children and adolescents.

Method

We searched electronic databases in April 2013. Included studies assessed the relation between motivation (as outlined in self-determination theory) and physical activity in children and adolescents.

Results

Forty-six studies (n = 15,984 participants) met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis indicated that overall levels of self-determined motivation had a weak to moderate, positive associations with physical activity (ρ = .21 to .31). Autonomous forms of motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation and identified regulation) had moderate, positive associations with physical activity (ρ = .27 to .38), whereas controlled forms of motivation (i.e., introjection and external regulation) had weak, negative associations with physical activity (ρ =  .03 to −.17). Amotivation had a weak, negative association with physical activity (ρ =  .11 to − .21).

Conclusions

Evidence provides some support for self-determination theory tenets. However, there was substantial heterogeneity in most associations and many studies had methodological shortcomings.

Introduction

Physical activity (PA) is associated with numerous health benefits in children and adolescents. For example, PA has positive effects on cholesterol and blood lipids, blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, overweight and obesity, bone mineral density, and depression (Janssen and LeBlanc, 2010). In addition, PA has positive relations with children and adolescents' academic performance and mental health (Biddle and Asare, 2011, Singh et al., 2012). Many children and adolescents, however, do not currently participate in sufficient levels of PA to acquire these benefits (Department of Health and Ageing, 2008, Troiano et al., 2008). As a result, PA promotion among young people has been identified as a global health priority (World Health Organisation, 2010).

Motivation is an important correlate and potential determinant of PA (Ng et al., 2012). The importance of different types of motivation (known as behavioral regulations) underpinning PA behavior, has become a prominent area of research over the past decade (Ng et al., 2012). Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci and Ryan, 1985) has emerged as popular framework for examining the relation between motivation and PA. The theory differentiates between controlled and autonomous forms of motivation. Five motivation regulations exist over these two categories and fall onto a systematically varying continuum, depending of the degree of self-determination present.

Autonomous forms of motivation include intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, and identified regulation. Intrinsic motivation exists when the behavior is viewed as interesting or enjoyable. Integrated regulation, defined as acting because the behavior aligns with personal values and one's sense of self, is the most autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. Identified regulation exists when the outcomes of a behavior are viewed as personally beneficial and important; this regulation is also considered an autonomous form of extrinsic motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985).

Controlled forms of motivation include external regulation and introjection. External regulation involves acting to obtain a reward or avoid punishment, whereas introjection occurs when feelings of guilt or contingent self-worth drive behavior. A final category, amotivation, refers to an absence of motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000).

According to SDT, autonomous forms of motivation will be positively related to sustained health-promoting behaviors, such as PA, whereas controlled forms of motivation will not promote these behaviors over the long term. A recent meta-analysis examined this association in adults (Teixeira et al., 2012). However, no previous review has examined the relation between self-determined motivation and PA in children and adolescents. Due to the current low levels of PA in children and adolescents, it is critical that we determine whether interventions targeting autonomous motivation are likely to be effective in promoting PA in children and adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to calculate effect sizes pertaining to relations between SDT-based motivation regulations and PA behavior of children and adolescents. In line with SDT tenets, we hypothesized that more autonomous forms of motivation would have stronger positive relations with PA behavior, whereas, more controlled forms of motivation would show stronger negative relations with PA behavior. We also identified and tested potential moderators of these effect sizes, such as measurement tools, study design, type of PA measure used, risk of bias within studies, and publication status.

Section snippets

Eligibility criteria

To be included in this review, studies were required to include: a) participants with a mean age between 5 and 18 or were enrolled in either primary or secondary schools, b) quantitative assessment of at least one form of motivation outlined in SDT (e.g., intrinsic motivation), an overall score of self-determination (i.e., Relative Autonomy Index; RAI; Ryan and Connell, 1989), a composite measure of autonomous motivation (e.g., mean of the intrinsic motivation and identified regulation

Study selection

As shown in Fig. 1, we identified 1928 studies after duplicate records were removed (n = 686). An additional five unpublished studies were identified through responses to our request on electronic mailing lists. We screened all titles and abstracts and removed those that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Next, we obtained full-text articles of 139 papers and two researchers independently screened the papers for eligibility. Forty-six full-text articles met the inclusion criteria and were

Discussion

The aim of this study was to systematically review studies framed by SDT that examined the association between motivation and PA in children and adolescents. Overall, the findings provide some support for SDT tenets, as autonomous forms of motivation were more strongly and positively associated with PA than controlled motivations. However, it should be noted that even the strongest effects observed were only weak to moderate in size, suggesting that factors other than motivation are important

Conclusions

Promoting PA in children and reducing the decline in activity typically observed during adolescence are global health priorities. Self-determination theory provides a useful framework for understanding children and adolescents' motivation for PA. This review supports an important tenet of SDT that self-determined motivation is associated with sustained health promoting behavior.

Funding

No funding was associated with this review.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Paul Fahey for his assistance with statistical analyses.

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