Configurations of actual and perceived motor competence among children: Associations with motivation for sports and global self-worth

Abstract

This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/58172/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the AbstractThe present study used a person-centred approach to examine whether different profiles based on actual and perceived motor competence exist in elementary school children. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to explore how children with different motor competence-based profiles might differ in their autonomous motivation for sports and global self-worth. Validated questionnaires were administered to 161 children (40% boys; age = 8.82 ± 0.66 years) to assess their perceived motor competence, global self-worth, and motivation for sports. Actual motor competence was measured with the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder. Cluster analyses identified four motor competence-based profiles: two groups were characterized by corresponding levels of actual and perceived motor competence (i.e., low-low and high-high) and two groups were characterized by divergent levels of actual and perceived motor competence (i.e., high-low and low-high). Children in the low-low and high-low group displayed significantly lower levels of autonomous motivation for sports and lower levels of global self-worth than children in the lowhigh and high-high group. These findings emphasize that fostering children's perceived motor competence might be crucial to improve their motivation for sports and their global self-worth.Teachers and instructors involved in physical education and youth sports should thus focus on both actual and perceived motor competence.

Actual vs. Perceived Motor Competence in Children (8–10 Years): An Issue of Non-Veridicality

“…Furthermore, Bayes factors indicated that there was only anecdotal evidence to separate the null and alternate hypotheses. Similarly, there was no significant difference (p = 0.87) between sexes for actual object control skills (Figure 1), further supporting the observations of Bardid et al [31] and Slykerman et al [41].…”

“…Masci et al [30] highlight that children and adolescents with different MC-based profiles also differ in motivation to practice PA, and actual PA levels. Furthermore, perceived, more than actual competence, appears to determine motivation for PA participation in children [31]. In the studies of Bardid et al [31] and De Meester et al [32], primary school children with a higher perception of MC resulted in higher motivation with this motivation remaining even when a low level of actual motor proficiency was combined with high self-perception (i.e., overestimation).…”

“…Furthermore, perceived, more than actual competence, appears to determine motivation for PA participation in children [31]. In the studies of Bardid et al [31] and De Meester et al [32], primary school children with a higher perception of MC resulted in higher motivation with this motivation remaining even when a low level of actual motor proficiency was combined with high self-perception (i.e., overestimation). Commonality exists between the aforementioned studies in the form of (non) veridicality of the physical self-concept, defined as the relation between the subjective perception and the corresponding external validity criterion.…”

Adolescent Athletic Participation Patterns and Self‐Perceived Competence: Associations With Later Participation, Depressive Symptoms, and Health

“…Overall, the findings of this study support prior literature on the benefits of adolescent sport participation (e.g., Agans & Geldhof, ; Simpkins, ), showing that young people who exhibit patterns of participation marked by more involvement in athletic activities show more indices of positive development in young adulthood (e.g., continued physical activity, better general health, fewer depressive symptoms). However, patterns of participation were predicted by self‐perceived competence, a characteristic that develops in childhood (Bardid et al., ). These findings point to the importance of considering factors that contribute to athletic participation, rather than assuming that all youth have an equal likelihood of being involved in sport, and to the idea that continued nonparticipation can also have benefits at certain points in adolescence, especially compared with dropping out from sport.…”

Percentile curves for Brazilian children evaluated with the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd edition

“…In addition, it is not mandatory that physical education classes are taught by trained teachers 20 . However, other factors also interfere in motor proficiency performance, such as daily life routines, sociocultural factors of each population 4 and the intrinsic motivation of each child 28 .…”