Malmö Youth Sport Study
A Sport Psychology Perspective
on Achievement Motivation
Joakim.Ingrell@mah.se
Introduction
Since the mid 90´s more and more elementary schools in Sweden is starting to specialize towards sport and motives for this is, in hierarchical order; 1) to compete with other local schools and thus be able to recruit more pupils 2) to meet students' interests and thereby give them a more interesting school day 3) health benefits 4) that students perform better in other school subjects 5) to give students the chance to develop in their sports and prepare them for a future as an elite athlete and 6) that the school's resources in terms of premises has been an important motive for the start of the sport profile (Eliasson, Ferry & Olofsson, 2012). Is it possible to predict how successful you´re going to be in sport or if you continue to be physically active in your adult life?
Objective and theoretical framework
This PhD-project is part of the Malmö Youth Sport Studies, an interdisciplinary research project, with the main objective to study what possible physiological, psychological and social factors influence adolescents to continue doing sports during adolescence. The purpose of this specific thesis is to investigate and track/trace young people’s achievement goals, perception of motivational climate, behaviors, cognitions, and affects regarding sport participation. In addition, the aim is also to investigate if/how this changes over time and whether there are differences between students at elementary sports schools and sporting students attending regular elementary schools.
The theoretical framework will be based on achievement goal theories in sport originated from Nicholls (1989) two conceptions of ability (task and ego), Dwecks (1999) implicit theories of ability (entity theory and incremental theory), Elliot’s (1999) approach-avoidance goal framework and Ames (1992) work on motivational climate.
Anxiety in relation to competing or/and performing has been identified as an important predictor regarding quality and duration of experiences in sport (Smith, Smoll, & Passer, 2002). High levels of performance anxiety are also associated with less good performance and reduced pleasure in participating in sporting activities in both adults and children (Scanlan, Babkes, & Scanlan, 2005) and is therefore also an important predictor of continued sports participation. Within the theoretical framework, activities in which a child's performance can be assessed, this type of emotional reasoning could cause a child to see a potentially positive challenge as a threat, which can lead to task-irrelevant cognitive and emotional responses, anxiety and potentially avoidance.
Further, longitudinal, research that examines cognitive and somatic anxiety among young children in performance domains (eg sports, school) is justified given the the motives for sports schools (Eliasson et al., 2012) and the benefits that involvement in
school and leisure activities have on children's development and the potentially harmful consequences that anxiety induced dissociation from sports participation could generate (Scanlan et al., 2005).
Method
Longitudinal (three years); participants will three times a year respond to a number of questionnaires
assessing peer, parents and coach motivational climate, and affective and behavioral responses in youth sport. The earlier quantitative studies form the basis for selection of informants for the qualitative
retrospective study. This enables a stratified random sample, meaning that the variables relevant to the research questions can be included. Participants will be (n210) students, age 13-15, from various team and individual sports, attending sports schools (n78) and regular elementary schools (n132).
Results and discussion
The study is in its initial stage . However, regarding perceived motivational climate and competitive sport trait anxiety, preliminary findings from the participants first year at sports schools (n78) indicated that,
over time, there was an increase in perceived ego-involving peer climate which resulted in an increased cognitive sport trait anxiety (worrying) (measured with the Sport Anxiety Scale-2; Smith, Smoll, Cumming & Grossbard, 2006). This will be further analyzed and discussed based on previous research, theoretical framework and methodological approach.
References
Ames, C. (1992). Achievement Goals, Motivational Climate, and Motivational Processes. In G. C. Roberts (Ed.). Motivation in sport and exercise (ss 161-176). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Dweck, C.S. (1999). Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis.
Eliasson, I., Ferry, M., & Olofsson, E. (2012). Dörrarna öppnade för mera – En studie om idrottsprofilerad utbildning i grundskolan. (Idrottslyftet FoU 2011:6). Stockholm: Riksidrottsförbundet.
Elliot, A.J. (1999). Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals. Educational Psychologist, 34, 169-189. Nicholls, J. (1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Scanlan, T.K., Babkes, M.L., & Scanlan, L.A. (2005) Participation in sport: A developmental glimpse at emotion. In J.L. Mahoney, R.W. Larson, & J.S. Eccles (Eds.), Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., Cumming, S. P., & Grossbard, J. R. (2006). Measurement of Multidimensional Sport Performance Anxiety in Children and Adults – The sport Anxiety Scale-2. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 28, 479-501.
Smith, R.E., Smoll, F.L., & Passer, M.W. (2002). Sport performance anxiety in young athletes. In F.L. Smoll & R.E. Smith (Eds.), Children and youth in sport: A biopsychosocial perspective (2nd ed., pp. 501-536). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
