Molanorouzi Keyvan, Khoo Selina, Morris Tony
Sports Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), College of Sport and Exercise Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2015 Jan 31;15:66. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-1429-7.
In recent years, there has been a decline in physical activity among adults. Motivation has been shown to be a crucial factor in maintaining physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether motives for participation could accurately discriminate gender, age, and type of physical activity.
A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive research design was employed. The Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) was used to assess motives for physical activity in 1,360 adults (703 males, 657 females) who had been exercising regularly for at least six months. The PALMS consists of 40 items that constitute eight sub-scales (mastery, enjoyment, psychological condition, physical condition, appearance, others' expectations, affiliation, competition/ego). Respondents were divided into two age groups (young adults aged 20 to 40 years and middle-aged adults 41 to 64 years) and five types of activity (individual racing sports plus bowls, team sports, racquet sports, martial arts, and exercise).
The group discriminant function analyses revealed significant canonical functions correctly classifying the cases into gender (82%), age group (83%), team sport players 76%, individual racing sport plus bowls players 91%, racquet sport players 90%, exercisers 84%, and martial art players 91%. The competition/ego, appearance, physical condition, and mastery sub-scales contributed most to gender differences. Five sub-scales (mastery, psychological condition, others' expectations, affiliation, and enjoyment) contributed most to the discriminant function for age. For type of activity, different sub-scales were the strongest contributors to the discriminant function for each type of PA.
The findings in this study suggest that strong and important motives for participation in physical activity are different across type of activity, age, and gender in adults. Understanding the motives that influence physical activity participation is critical for developing interventions to promote higher levels of involvement.
近年来，成年人的身体活动有所减少。动机已被证明是维持身体活动的关键因素。本研究的目的是检验参与动机是否能够准确区分性别、年龄和身体活动类型。
采用定量、横断面描述性研究设计。使用身体活动与休闲动机量表（PALMS）评估1360名成年人（703名男性，657名女性）的身体活动动机，这些成年人已定期锻炼至少六个月。PALMS由40个项目组成，构成八个子量表（掌握、享受、心理状况、身体状况、外表、他人期望、归属感、竞争/自我）。受访者被分为两个年龄组（20至40岁的年轻人和41至64岁的中年人）以及五种活动类型（个人赛车运动加保龄球、团队运动、球拍运动、武术和锻炼）。
组判别函数分析显示，显著的典型函数能够将案例正确分类到性别（82%）、年龄组（83%）、团队运动参与者（76%）、个人赛车运动加保龄球参与者（91%）、球拍运动参与者（90%）、锻炼者（84%）和武术参与者（91%）中。竞争/自我、外表、身体状况和掌握子量表对性别差异的贡献最大。五个子量表（掌握、心理状况、他人期望、归属感和享受）对年龄判别函数的贡献最大。对于活动类型，不同的子量表对每种身体活动类型的判别函数贡献最大。
本研究结果表明，成年人参与身体活动的强烈且重要的动机因活动类型、年龄和性别而异。了解影响身体活动参与的动机对于制定促进更高参与水平的干预措施至关重要。
