Motives for physical activity among adolescents in the Czech and Slovak Republics

Abstract

SUMMARY Objectives: Physical activity significantly contributes to overall health and the level of activity during adolescence has been associated with physical activity in adulthood. The aim of this paper was to analyse motives for young people undertaking leisure time physical activity in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Methods: Eleven to fifteen year old schoolchildren (N = 9,014; mean age = 13.59) participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2009/2010 study in the Czech and Slovak Republics completed 12 items measuring physical activity motivations. To analyse the factor structure of motives for physical activity, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation. Results: Contrary to previous research that reported three main motives for physical activity (health, social, achievement), our study suggests four motives. The additional motive is a combination of internal and external motivations and was called the “Good Child Motive”. Conclusions: Better understanding of motives behind physical activity or inactivity of young people could significantly contribute to evidencebased planning and development of national strategies for public health and active living.