THE ROLE OF RELATEDNESS AND AUTONOMY IN
MOTIVATION OF YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
A SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE
1

THESIS COMMITTEE
Susan Levy Ph.D.
Committee Chair, ENS faculty
Simon Marshall Ph.D.
Within-Dept. Committee member, ENS faculty
Guadalupe X. Suchi Ayala, Ph.D.
Outside-Dept. Committee member, PH faculty
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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree
MASTER OF ARTS IN
KINESIOLOGY
by Justin M. Phillips
Spring 2009
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THE ROLE OF RELATEDNESS AND AUTONOMY IN
MOTIVATION OF YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
A SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE
4

SELF-DETERMINATION
THEORY
Deci and Ryan (1985)
autonomy
SD
competence Motivation
relatedness
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THE MOTIVATIONAL
CONTINUUM
(Deci and Ryan, 1991)
Threshold-
Whitehead (1995)
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FROM MOTIVATION
TO BEHAVIOR
Increase motivation...
Oman and McAuley (1993)
Ryan, Frederick, Lepes, Rubio &
Sheldon (1997)
Haggar, Chatzisarantis, Culverhouse &
Biddle (2003)
Vierling, Standage, & Treasure, (2007)
...influence behavior.
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AUTONOMY
Deci and Ryan 1985 Ryan and Deci 2000
Contexts Demonstrating Strength
Younger Older
(Vierling et al., 2007) (Edmunds et al., 2008)
Male Female
(Reinboth et al., 2004) (Edmunds et al., 2008)
Majority Minority
(Hollembeak and Amorose, 2005) (Vierling et al., 2007)
Exercise Education
(Standage et al., 2003) (Black and Deci, 2000)
Motivation Behavior
(Mouratidis et al., 2008) (Markland & Ingledew, 2007)
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COMPETENCE RELATEDNESS
Deci and Ryan,
Deci and Ryan,
2002
2000
Standage et. al, Standage et al.,
2005 2003
McDonough & Reinboth, Duda &
Crocker, 2007 Ntoumanis, 2004
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RELATEDNESS &
AUTONOMY
SCHWARTZ, 2000: “INHERENT TENSION
BETWEEN BEING ONE’S SELF AND MEANINGFUL
INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL GROUPS.”
VS.
RYAN AND SOLKY, 1996: NEEDS FOR RELATEDNESS
AND AUTONOMY ARE “MUTUALLY FACILITATIVE”
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MARKLAND 1999
N = 146 women
(M age= 35.5 yrs old)
community-based
exercise class
unexpected interactive
effect
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PURPOSE
The aim of this study
is to determine if
perceptions of
autonomy moderate
the relationship
between relatedness
and self-determined
motivation.
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HYPOTHESIS
Perceptions of autonomy will moderate the
relationship between relatedness and self-
determined motivation in a youth exercise
setting.
Those with high levels of autonomy will see increased
levels of relatedness associated with higher levels of
self-determined motivation.
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PROCEDURES
Approval: Thesis committee, IRB, SD Unified, Hoover
Principal, Cooperating Teachers, Parents, participants
Recruitment:
Targeted: N=124 for sufficient power
Classes: grades 9-12, English - Physical Education
Invitation: first 3-5 minutes of class
Consent: Spanish and English versions
Response: 22% rate (224 of approx. 950)
Data collection over 4 weeks
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PARTICIPANTS
Males and Females
Grades 9-12
Ages:
Range 14-18
Mean 16.13 yrs
SD (1.1)
Ethnically diverse
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SAMPLE DIVERSITY BY
ETHNICITY
African American
Asian or Pacific Islander
Hispanic/ Latino
Native American or Alaska Native
Caucasian
Other
Decline to State
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PROCEDURES
Measurement:
Informed consent verified
Directions read aloud
Context defined “sport, games and play”
15-20 minutes to complete
Anonymity maintained
Incentives to participate
Opportunity to withdraw
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MEASURING PERCEPTIONS
OF COMPETENCE
Modified version of Harter’s (1985)
athletic competence subscale of the Self-
Perception Profile for Children.
6-item measure
Measures perceptions of competence in a
variety of physical settings.
Reliability and validity evidence
Reliability (r =.74 -.92) and validity
(r = .74-.93)
Previous usage: (Cox & Williams, 2008)
& (Ridgers, Fazey, & Fairclough, 2007).
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MEASURING PERCEPTIONS
OF AUTONOMY
5-item measure
Developed by Standage, Duda, and
Ntoumanis, 2003
5-point likert scale
“sport, games and play”
substituted for “PE class”
Cronbach’s alpha: .81(2003)/ .80
(2006)
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MEASURING PERCEPTIONS
OF RELATEDNESS
Goodenow’s (1993)
Psychological Sense and School
Membership Scale (PSSMS)
6-items measure general feelings
of relatedness in P.E.
Cronbach’s alpha = .78 (Cox and
Williams, 2008)
Contextual modifications to tap
perceptions of belongingness, as
perceived in “sport, games and
play”
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MEASURING PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY
2-item measure
Developed by Prochaska, Sallis
and Long (2001)
Validated with adolescents
wearing accelerometers.
Behavior correlated with
composite scores (r=.40)
Intraclass test/ retest reliability
(R= .77)
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MEASURING SELF-
DETERMINED MOTIVATION
Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2
(BREQ-2: Markland & Tobin, 2004).
19-item measure; 5-point scale
Integrated regulation subscale is not included.
Single score for self-determined motivation (RAI):
Simplex pattern should confirm the proposed SDT
continuum.
Validity and reliability evidence.
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PILOT STUDY RESULTS
Reliability evidence
Quasi-simplex pattern
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DATA ANALYSIS
Cross-sectional design
Descriptive statistics reported
ANOVA :
2 (hi / low autonomy) X 2 (hi / low relatedness)
Alpha set to .05
Bonferroni
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RESULTS
.70 “acceptable” criteria
Nunnally and Bernstein (1994)
Critical measures
“reliable” with this
sample
Competence scale
exception
N = 224
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RESULTS- MODERATION?
No interaction observed
F (1, 220) = .039,
p> .05, =.000
Effect of relatedness on
self-determined
motivation did not
depend on autonomy
level
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MAIN EFFECTS
Sign. main effect for relatedness, F (1, 220) = 65.812, p < .001, =.238
Relatedness explained 23.8% of the variance in self-determined motivation
Main effect for autonomy, F (1, 220)= 6.899, p< .05, =.032 was
observed in the analysis
Autonomy explained 3.2% of the variance in self-determined motivation
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RESULTS
Consistent with RAI results
Figure demonstrates the lack of
interaction: F (1, 211) = .582, p > .
05, = .003.
Main effect for relatedness, F( 1,
211) = 17.786, p < .001, = .078.
No main effect was observed for
autonomy
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DISCUSSION
Theoretical Implications
Findings support the use of SDT as guiding framework for
examining motivation of youth in the exercise domain.
Supports previous research suggesting relatedness to be especially
important for students in the exercise domain.
Consistent with Markland (1999), results potentially undermine the
assertion that autonomy is central to feeling self-determined in sport,
games and play.
Affirms focus on addressing psychological outcomes, as
psychological needs were positively associated with relevant
behavioral outcomes.
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DISCUSSION
Practical Implications
Work to increase PE TEACHERS: Consider
opportunities for implementing community-
psychological need building activities at the start
fulfillment in sports, games of semesters
and play.
PARENTS: Encourage
Recognize and capitalize on friendships that begin in the
the demonstrated potency sport context.
of perceptions of relatedness
in sport, play and games. COACHES: Increase on-
field motivation through off-
field outings
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FUTURE RESEARCH
Investigate factors influencing a sense of belonging in youth
domain-specific
peer/ teacher/ coach/ parent
mastery vs. performance environment
Determine relevancy of SDT tenants across ethnicity and
culture
Seek further development and validation of relatedness
measures
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STRENGTHS AND
LIMITATIONS
STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS
asks an important research relatively large SDs in
question low-relatedness groups.
diversity of sample size of pilot study
use of previously validated
measures variance in motivation
explained by
use of pilot study psychological needs =
investigates both small to moderate
psychological and behavioral
outcomes
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CONCLUSION
Perceptions of autonomy may be less essential
for high school students than assumed.
Genuine feelings of belonging to a group are
associated with increased levels of motivation in
sport, games and play.
Populations in need of intervention.
Deeper insight may help us address levels of
inactivity and increase PA participation for
youth in the future, leading to positive outcomes
for individuals in both physical and mental
health.
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THE ROLE OF RELATEDNESS AND AUTONOMY IN
MOTIVATION OF YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
A SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE
34