Motivational profiles in physical education students from three countries and their relationship with physical activity [Perfiles motivacionales en estudiantes de educación física de tres países y su relación con la actividad física]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the motivational profiles of physical education students, and to examine their relationship with physical activity and their intention of being physically active. An attempt was also made to verify whether these profiles and their relationship with physical activity and intention to be physically active remained stable in Spanish, Colombian and Ecuadorian adolescents. The sample consisted of 2670 students aged 12 to 16 (M = 14.30; SD = 1.66), from different schools from Madrid, Armenia, and Cuenca. The results show that there are three motivational profiles: Low-moderately motivated, highly motivated-low ego, and highly motivated. The data analysis also showed that the highly motivated profile had the highest score both in physical activity and in the intention to practice it, followed by highly motivated-low ego, and low-moderately motivated profiles. The characteristics of both profiles —as well as the relationships established with dependent variables— remained stable in the samples of the three countries. As a conclusion, highly motivated profile showed higher levels of physical activity and intention to be physically active in the future. There were similarities between adolescents from the different countries.