Social relatedness and its role in adolescents' motivation towards physical activity: A qualitative approach

Abstract

This study adopts a qualitative approach to deepen the role played by social relationships in the motivation towards the practice of physical activity (PA) in Spanish adolescents. A case study was developed based on the content analysis of the interviews of six Spanish adolescents (three girls and three boys), from different regions and both urban and rural contexts. This interpretative analysis allowed to inductively obtain four main categories of the total data set. The results, presented through a realistic report, show that during adolescence family ceases to be a key social reference in favour of peers. In addition, these relationships with the social group sometimes arise as important mediators facilitating motivational behaviours towards PA, whereas in other occasion they act as inhibitors of these behaviours, depending on the type of relationship and activities developed by the group. Finally, pressure from the social culture emerges for adolescents to assume behaviours more typical in adults, such as sedentary behaviours or in general far from the practice of regular PA. Although adolescents' social relationships can facilitate behaviours that motivate PA, they can also become an issue, so it is convenient to create environments in which satisfactory social relationships are favoured and away from inactive and harmful behaviours for health.