Relationship between entity and incremental beliefs about sport ability, achievement goal orientations and middle school adolescents' dispositional trends for self-handicapping in physical education classes

According to Dweck model, this study (N = 274) examined the relationships between the nature of beliefs about sport ability, achievement goal orientations, interest towards physical education and middle school adolescent dispositional trends for self-handicapping in the context of physical education classes (PE). Results showed that the links between entity and incremental beliefs about sport ability and achievement goals orientations depended on the sex. Moreover, multiple regression analyses indicated that in boys, altogether 24 % of the variance in self-handicapping was explained by three variables whereas in girls, only entity beliefs explained 12 % of the variance in dispositional trends for self-handicapping in PE. Finally, exclusively for the girls, PE interest mediated the influence of beliefs about sport ability on self-handicapping. The overall pattern of results underlined the necessity for PE teachers to promote a learning/mastery oriented motivational climate for reducing self-handicapping and questioned about the task and performance avoidance goals in physical education