Associations Between Intrinsic Motivation, Exercise Attitudes, Physical Activity, and Mental Health in Young Adolescents: An Integrated Motivational Perspective

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 96; no. 3; pp. 513 - 522
• Main Authors: Arashi, Masoud, Webster, Collin A., Mîndrila, Diana, Duda, Joan L., Stankić, Dragan, Perić, Dušan, Banićević, Ivana, Banićević, Željko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 30.01.2025
• Subjects: Adolescent; Attitude to Health; Child; Exercise - psychology; Female; Humans; Integrated behavior change model; Male; Mental Health; Motivation; Self-Determination Theory; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Surveys and Questionnaires; Theory of Planned Behavior; Integrated behavior change model; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Theory of Planned Behavior; Self-Determination Theory
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2024.2446545

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) and mental health (MH) are priorities for health promotion during early adolescence. This study explored associations between intrinsic motivation for PA, exercise attitudes, PA and MH in young adolescents. Methods: Participants were 315 students (M age  = 11.41; SD = 2.09; 45.1% girls) conveniently sampled from two private British schools in Dubai. Data were collected via a survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: As hypothesized, higher intrinsic motivation was directly associated with more favorable exercise attitudes, and attitudes was directly associated with increased PA. Unexpectedly, however, PA was not associated with better MH outcomes. A better fitting model was specified in which attitudes was directly associated with both PA and MH. Conclusions: Further research examining associations between exercise attitudes, PA, and MH in young adolescents is warranted.