Abstract

RUIZ-JUAN, F.; BAENA-EXTREMERA, A.  and  BANOS, R.. Level of sport activity in free time from the stages of change and motivation in students from Costa Rica, Mexico and Spain. CPD [online]. 2017, vol.17, n.2, pp.53-64. ISSN 1989-5879.

The aim of the present study was to analyze the predictive power of stages of change and motivation on leisure time physical activity levels of students from secondary education engaged in physical education. The sample consisted of 2,168 students randomly selected from Costa Rica (423), Mexico (408) and Spain (1337). Participants were 1,052 boys, 1,037 girls, plus 79 who did not disclose their gender, all of them aged between 11 and 16 years (M=12.49, SD=.81). A questionnaire consisting of previously validated scales was employed to ask students about their leisure time sports and physical activity, stages of change, and motivation. Internal consistency analysis of correlations and confirmatory factorial analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0. Results showed that Costa Rica students are the most active, most of them being located in the active stage of change yet displaying low exercise rates and intrinsic motivation, followed by Spaniards, who presented high levels of self-determination. Mexico was the least active, showing higher levels of amotivation at the same time as schoolchildren have low exercise rates and are placed in inactive stages. The significant differences found in students' motivation among the three countries indicate the need for choosing appropriate motivational strategies in order to increase leisure time physical activity, which would imply a larger number of adolescents located in active stages.

Keywords : physical activity; physical education; stages of change; motivation.

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