Understanding Factors Associated with Children's Motivation to Engage in Recess-Time Physical Activity.

Abstract

Physical activity is linked with health and academic benefits.  While recess provides the greatest opportunity for children to accumulate physical activity, most children are not motivated to engage in sufficient amounts of physical activity during recess.  Research demonstrates a strong relationship between self-efficacy and children’s motivation to engage in physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore whether in the context of recess there is a relationship between physical activity self-efficacy and children’s motivation to engage in physical activity. One hundred and sixty-one students were recruited from three elementary schools.  Physical activity self-efficacy (barrier and task) and physical activity data were collected utilizing a self-efficacy instrument and accelerometers. This study found evidence of two types of barrier self-efficacy, adult encouragement barrier self-efficacy and other barrier self-efficacy, neither of these types of barrier self-efficacy, nor task self-efficacy were found to be significantly related to motivation to engage in physical activity during recess. Given research suggesting that other types of physical activity self-efficacy may be useful in understanding children motivation to engage in physical activity, more research in this area is needed.  Future research may consider exploring the relationship between asking efficacy, environmental change efficacy and motivation to engage in recess-time physical activity.  This research can assist practitioners and researchers identify modifiable correlates associated with children’s recess time physical activity.  Such evidence could be utilized to develop interventions that are effective at increasing the amount of physical activity children accumulate during recess time.