Kovács Karolina Eszter
Department of Counselling, Developmental and School Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Front Sports Act Living. 2025 May 9;7:1594365. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1594365. eCollection 2025.
Sport persistence, the sustained engagement in sporting activities, is influenced by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. Understanding these factors is crucial for supporting long-term athlete commitment and preventing dropout. The study examines athlete profiles based on sport persistence, sport orientation, and grit, aiming to identify distinct clusters that reveal different psychological and sociodemographic characteristics.
A survey was conducted among 1,105 young athletes (aged 14-25) from secondary and tertiary education institutions in Hungary. The sample included both competitive and recreational athletes. Data collection involved validated psychological measures, including the Sport Persistence Questionnaire, Short Grit Scale, Sport Orientation Questionnaire, beside a block of sociodemographic questions. Cluster analysis (K-Means clustering) was used to identify athlete profiles based on sport persistence, grit, and sport orientation.
Four distinct athlete profiles emerged: (1) Consistently persistent athletes ( = 363; high levels of sport persistence, grit, and sport orientation); (2) Athletes prone to dropout ( = 174; low level persistence, grit, and sport orientation); (3) Oriented lagging athletes ( = 387; moderate sport orientation but lower grit and persistence); (4) Disoriented persistent athletes ( = 180; high grit but low sport orientation). Sociodemographic factors, such as parental employment status and educational background, significantly influenced group membership.
These results indicate that gender, educational level, parental employment, and sport type significantly influence an athlete's likelihood of maintaining sport participation. The findings also suggest that competitive team sports support networks may contribute to sustained engagement, while university transitions and socioeconomic challenges can lead to a decline in sport persistence.
运动坚持性，即持续参与体育活动，受到内在和外在动机因素的综合影响。了解这些因素对于支持运动员的长期投入和防止退出至关重要。本研究基于运动坚持性、运动取向和坚毅性对运动员进行剖析，旨在识别出揭示不同心理和社会人口学特征的不同聚类。
对匈牙利中学和高等教育机构的1105名年轻运动员（年龄在14 - 25岁之间）进行了一项调查。样本包括竞技运动员和业余运动员。数据收集涉及经过验证的心理测量工具，包括运动坚持性问卷、简短坚毅性量表、运动取向量表，以及一组社会人口学问题。聚类分析（K均值聚类）用于根据运动坚持性、坚毅性和运动取向识别运动员类型。
出现了四种不同的运动员类型：（1）始终坚持的运动员（n = 363；运动坚持性、坚毅性和运动取向水平高）；（2）容易退出的运动员（n = 174；坚持性、坚毅性和运动取向水平低）；（3）取向滞后的运动员（n = 387；运动取向中等但坚毅性和坚持性较低）；（4）无取向坚持的运动员（n = 180；坚毅性高但运动取向低）。社会人口学因素，如父母的就业状况和教育背景，对分组有显著影响。
这些结果表明，性别、教育水平、父母就业情况和运动类型显著影响运动员保持运动参与的可能性。研究结果还表明，竞技团队运动的支持网络可能有助于持续参与，而大学过渡和社会经济挑战可能导致运动坚持性下降。
