Motivation and stages of change for physical exercise in adolescents

It is essential for adolescents to acquire an active lifestyle. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine which variables of Achievement Goal Theory and the Hierarchical Model of Motivation predicted the change stages for exercise in the Transtheoretical Model. To this effect, a descriptive and cross-section study was carried out with 359 secondary school and undergraduate students. The Learning and Performance Orientations in Physical Education Classes Questionnaire (LAPOPECQ), Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNES), and Stages of Change in Exercise - Continuous Measure (URICA-E2) were applied. Exploratory and confirmatory factorial, reliability, descriptive and regression analyses were subsequently conducted. The most relevant results showed that the Pre-contemplation Stage was predicted negatively by Competence, and positively by Amotivation and perception of ego-involving environment. The Contemplation-Preparation Stage was predicted positively by competence and Perfection Intrinsic Motivation - Introjected Extrinsic Motivation and negatively by autonomy. The Action-Maintenance Stage was positively predicted by competence. These results suggesting that basic psychological need of competence is the most relevant variable for the engagement to the more active stages of physical activity. (C) 2015 Fundacion Universitaria Konrad Lorenz. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.