2016 ACSM-WSI Expert Roundtable

ADVANCING WOMENS
PARTICIPATION IN SPORT:
A FOCUS ON MOTIVES
St iliani Ani Chr oni & Se pand M as hr e ghi
H e d m a r k U n iver s ity o f A p p li ed S c iec n e s
D e p a r tm e n t o f P E & S p o r ts, E l ver u m , N o r way
s t i l ia n i. c h r on i@ h ih m . n o

MOTIVATION IN OUR LIVES

The direction and intensity of effort (Sage, 1977)
The direction of effort refers to whether an individual seeks out, approaches
or is attracted to certain situations
A high school girl may be motivated to go for the track team
A mother may be motivated to join an evening aerobics class

The intensity of effort refers to how much effort a person puts forth in a
particular situation
The high school girl may want to win her tennis matches so badly that she becomes
overly motivated, tightens up and performs poorly
The mother attends the aerobics class 3 times per week just like her friends yet differs
form them in the low effort she puts into each workout

The force that directs effort, energy,

persistence toward participatory choices

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MOTIVATION

People participate for more than one reason
Most people have multiple motives for participation
Example: a college woman may lift weights because she wants to tone her body. Yet lifting
weights also makes her feel good, plus she enjoy the camaraderie of her lifting partners. Thus,
she lifts for more than one reason

People have competing motives for involvement

At times people have competing motives
Example: a business woman may want to exercise at the club after work and also have dinner
with her family. We should be aware of such conflicting interests because they can affect
participation

People have both shared and unique motives

While possible to identify why people usually participate in sport and exercise,
motives for participation vary greatly and can be unique to each individual
Example: sharing the enjoyment with kids by biking and mothers motive to tone up her body

The most reported motives for sport participation are fitness, fun,
excitement and challenge, and improving skills

WHAT MOTIVATES WOMEN

Reviewed 21 studies and organized findings in:
Self-presentation motives
Health motives
Psychological motives
Age appears to make a difference
Ethnicity and culture have not been researched extensively

SELF-PRESENTATION MOTIVES
Self presentation motives in general
(Hausenblas, Brewer, & Van Raalte, 2010)

Image, Looking good

(Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK; Moreno-Murica, Marcos-Pardo & Huvescar, 2016,
Spain)

Appearance, Body motives, Toned body, Slim figure, Being

thin, Lose weight, Weight management
(Kilpatrick, Hebert & Bartholomew, 2005; Pfister, 2006. Iran; Zack & Netz, 2007 Israel; Steinfeldt et.
al, 2011; Louw, Van Biljon, & Mugandani, 2012; Parnabas & Parnabas, 2014, different ethnicities in
Malaysia; Female Participation in Sport & PA, 2014 Report, AUS; Li et. al., 2014, Pakistan; Zack &
Adiv, 2015, Israel; Changing the Game for Girls, Policy Report UK)

Feeling in good shape

(Liston & Murphy, 2015, Ireland)

HEALTH - RELATED MOTIVES

Health, Fitness, Physical fitness, Positive health, Strength
(Kilpatrick, Hebert & Bartholomew, 2005; Pfister, 2006 Iran; Hausenblas, Brewe,r & Van Raalte, 2010;
Louw, Van Biljon, & Mugandani, 2012; AUS study; Liston & Murphy, 2015, Ireland; Female Participation
in Sport & PA, 2014 Report, AUS; Moreno-Murica, Marcos-Pardo, & Huvescar, 2016, Spain)

Feel better physically

(Zack & Netz, 2007 Israel)

Feeling good
(Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK)

PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVES
Stress, Enjoyment, Having fun, Affiliation, Social, Socializing,
Friends & Family
(AUS study; Israel study; Kilpatrick, Hebert & Bartholomew, 2005; Parnabas & Parnabas, 2014, different
ethnicities in Malaysia; Liston & Murphy, 2015, Ireland; Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK;
Changing the Game for Girls, Policy Report UK)

Achieving goals, Personal fulfillment

(Female Participation in Sport and PA, 2014 Report, AUS; Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK)

Feeling good, Energy, Feel better mentally

(Israel study; Louw, Van Biljon & Mugandani, 2012; Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK)

Skill development
(Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK; Moreno-Murica, Marcos-Pardo & Huvescar, 2016, Spain)

AGE & WOMENS MOTIVES

School Age Children and Adolescents
(e.g., Changing the Game for Girls, Policy Report UK; Zack& Netz, 2007 Israel)

Family and friends are most influential

Mothers are especially important: Active mothers--active children
Younger children are more positive about sport
School PE experience is important
If negative, then the person is less physically active

Adolescents are more concerned with being thin

AGE & WOMENS MOTIVES

YOUNGER WOMEN
More concerned with self
presentation and image
issues and weight loss
Social affiliation
(Hausenblas, Brewer, & Van Raalte, 2010;
Kilpatrick, Hebert, & Bartholomew, 2005;
Steinfeldt et. al, 2011; Louw, Van Biljon, &
Mugandani, 2012; Female Participation in
Sport & PA, 2014 Report, AUS; Zack &
Adiv, 2015, Israel)

OLDER ADULTS
More concerned with longterm benefits, health
More interested in enjoyment
(Hausenblas, Brewer, & Van Raalte, 2010;
Motivators and Constraints to Participation in
Sport & PA, 2007, Report AUS; Louw, Van
Biljon, & Mugandani, 2012)

ETHNICITY/CULTURE & WOMENS MOTIVES

Most of the research done in western world thus motives are very
similar all across
differences are most apparent between different age groups

Studies done in other parts of the world reveal that even though
the motives are the same, priority of motives is slightly different
Example: in Malaysia stress management was ranked as top motive for
participation in PA and sport
Example: comparisons among women in Oman, Pakistan and USA,
revealed appearance motives not ranking high for women in Oman

WOMEN HAVE OVERLAPPING

BUT ALSO COMPETING MOTIVES

Feeling good

Family
Physically
fit

Energized

Career
In good shape

WHAT STANDS OUT REGARDING

WOMENS MOTIVES TO BE ACTIVE
Participants who are overly concern with appearance exercise less
or are less consistent (Hausenblas, Brewer & Van Raalte, 2010)
A combination of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation is optimal to
increase PA participation (Van Heerden, 2014)
Addressing more than one set of motives increases womens
participation in sport & PA (Understanding Womens lives, 2015, Report UK)
Participants in sport display more desirable motivational
strategies (i.e., enjoyment, challenge, affiliation) in comparison
with exercise participants (Kilpatrick, Hebert, & Bartholomew, 2005)

2016 ACSM-WSI Expert Roundtable

We need to find the killer

combination of motives to make and
keep women active that will work
at the right time and the right place

THANK YOU
Stiliani Ani Chroni, Ph.D., CC-AASP

Professor in Sport Psychology, Pedagogy, & Coaching

stiliani.chroni@hihm.no