Background: Regular sport participation is essential for youths physical, mental, and social health. Research shows, however, that sports participation peaks at around 10-14 years of age before declining through adolescence. Soccer, which is the most popular youth sport in Sweden, is no exception to dropout problems during adolescence. 

Purpose of the study: The purpose was to examine longitudinal changes in youth soccer players motivational regulations during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in Sweden, and how longitudinal changes in motivational regulations predicts dropout from youth soccer.

Methods: Self-reported data was collected from 325 youth soccer players between 11 and 17 years of age (M = 13.08) at the beginning of the season in 2019 (TI) and 2020 (T2) and dropout data was reported by the coaches at the end of the season in 2021 (T3). Latent change score analyses, using Bayesian estimator, was used to examine change in the players motivational regulations.  

Findings: There was a credible increase in amotivation (β = 0.14) and a credible decrease in identified regulation (β = -0.41) between T1 and T2. Changes in amotivation (β = 0.16), external regulation (β = 0.14), and intrinsic regulation (β = -0.15) between T1 and T2 were credible predictors of dropout from soccer at T3. 

Conclusion: To reduce the risk of dropout from youth soccer, during an ongoing pandemic, it is important to mitigate increases in amotivation and external regulation and to facilitate intrinsic motivation.

Background: Regular sport participation is essential for youths physical, mental, and social health. Research shows, however, that sports participation peaks at around 10-14 years of age before declining through adolescence. Soccer, which is the most popular youth sport in Sweden, is no exception to dropout problems during adolescence.

Objectives: The purpose was to examine longitudinal changes in youth soccer players motivational regulations during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in Sweden, and how longitudinal changes in motivational regulations predicts dropout from youth soccer.

Design: Three-wave survey. Methods: Self-reported data was collected from 325 youth soccer players between 11 and 17 years of age (M = 13.08) at the beginning of the season in 2019 (T1) and 2020 (T2) and dropout data was reported by the coaches at the end of the season in 2021 (T3). Latent change score analyses, using Bayesian estimator, was used to examine change in the players motivational regulations.

Results: There was a credible increase in amotivation (β = 0.14) and a credible decrease in identified regulation (β = -0.41) between T1 and T2. Changes in amotivation (β = 0.15) between T1 and T2 were the only credible predictor of dropout from soccer at T3.

Conclusions: To reduce the risk of dropout from youth soccer, during an ongoing pandemic, it is important to mitigate increases in amotivation.

Background: The number of adolescents that drop out of soccer has increased the last decades. As soccer participation may represent a substantial part of adolescents’ physical activity, efforts to reduce drop-out are important. To develop effective prevention programs, knowledge about why adolescents drop out is needed.

Purpose of the study: Using a prospective design, over three consecutive seasons, we investigate differences in motivation and coach autonomy support between adolescents that stay in soccer and adolescents that drop out.

Methods: Participants were 738 adolescents (462 males and 275 females), 11-17 years old (M = 13.72, SD = 1.77) from soccer clubs in Sweden. Data about demographics, motivational regulations and coach autonomy support was collected in 2019, drop-out data at the end of seasons in 2019-2021. We used Mann-Whitney u-test to analyse potential differences between the two groups. A p-value <.05 was considered a statistically significant result. Cohen’s d effect size was calculated for each comparison.

Findings: Of the participants, 256 (34,7%) dropped out until the end of the 2021 season. Dropouts experienced lower intrinsic motivation (U=55263, N1=479, N2=253, p=.006, d=0,15), more amotivation (U=66358, N1=482, N2=256, p=.042, d=0,13) and less coach autonomy support (U=49566, N1=479, N2=253, p=<.001, d=0,30). Regarding identified motivation (U=57329, N1=482, N2=255, p=.13, d=0,11) and introjected motivation (U=64628, N1=482, N2=256, p=.25, d=0,08) no statistically significant differences were found.

Conclusion: To facilitate motivation and continued soccer participation we propose theoretically informed education programs to help coaches adopt autonomy-supportive coaching strategies.

During the last decades, an increased drop-out rate in adolescents’ team sport participation is observed. Given the potential adverse consequences of drop-out from team sport more information about risk factors for drop-out is warranted. The objectives of this systematic review were to (1) synthesise the literature on factors associated with future drop-out from team sport among adolescents and (2) investigate the strength of associations between drop-out and related factors with meta-analysis. The databases Academic Search Elite, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed and SPORTDiscus were searched for relevant publications from the earliest reported date until October 8, 2021. Articles were included if: (1) data about drop-out was collected; (2) the focus was on adolescents; (3) the context was team sport and (4) studies were of prospective design. We used the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS) to assess the risk of bias in included studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted according to the reporting guideline of synthesis without meta-analysis. Studies that presented statistical data necessary for the calculation of Hedge’s g effect sizes were included in the meta-analysis. In total, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the narrative synthesis. The meta-analysis included 12 of the studies. Altogether, 6304 adolescent team sport players participated in the selected studies. Of those studies, most had a focus on intrapersonal factors relationship with drop-out. The results showed that constructs related to motivation as well as sport experience had the strongest relationships with drop-out. To prevent drop-out from adolescents’ team sport, organisations and clubs are recommended to focus on developing a high-quality motivation climate that facilitates motivation and enjoyment. © 2022 The Authors

Objectives: We examined the manner in which age, participation in other sports, socioeconomic status, perceived sport competence, achievement goal orientations, and perceived motivational climate may interact to predict the risk of dropout among adolescent female soccer players.

Methods: Self-reported data from 519 female soccer players between 10 and 19 years of age (M = 13.41, SD = 1.77) were analysed using a person-centred approach to uncover the interactions among risk factors and their relative predictability of dropout.

Results: Perceived motivational climate was identified as the main predictor, where relatively lower levels of mastery climate were associated with a higher dropout tendency (absolute risk reduction [ARR] = 12.2% ±6.1% [95% CL]). If combined with relatively lower levels of mastery climate, then relatively lower levels of perceived sport competence were related to higher dropout risks (ARR = 16.5% ±9.5%), whereas, in combination with relatively higher levels of mastery climate, then relatively lower levels of ego-orientated achievement goals were associated with higher dropout rates (ARR = 10.8% ±12.6%).

Conclusions: Our findings afford novel insights into the interactions between, and the relative importance of, various risk factors for dropout in adolescent female soccer. This knowledge may be useful for soccer associations, clubs, and coaches when developing guidelines and strategies that aim to foster young females' sustained participation in organised soccer. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

In recent years an increased drop-out rate in adolescents’ soccer participation has been observed. Given the potentially adverse consequences of drop-out from soccer, more information about risk factors for drop-out is warranted. In the current study, Classification and Regression Tree (CRT) analysis was used to investigate demographic and motivational factors associated with an increased risk of drop-out from adolescent soccer. The results of this study indicate that older age, experiencing less autonomy support from the coach, less intrinsic motivation, being female, and lower socioeconomic status are factors associated with an increased risk of drop-out. An interpretation of the results of this study is that coaches play a central part in creating a sports context that facilitates motivation and continued soccer participation. Based on the findings of the current study we propose that soccer clubs implement theoretically informed coach education programs to help coaches adopt autonomy-supportive coaching strategies. © 2022 by the authors.

The main aim of this study was to investigate if exercisers’ personality characteristics were associated with exercise dependence. Specifically, the purpose was to examine if anxiety, obsessive passion, and physical appearance orientation were associated to an increased risk for exercise dependence. Participants were 330 exercisers from exercise groups, sport clubs and university sport science classes in the southwest of Sweden. Data were analysed using CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) analysis. The CHAID analysis indicated that anxiety was the main predictor of exercise dependence. More specifically, 12.7% more exercisers who experienced high levels of anxiety symptoms (i.e. scores above 6), were, in comparison to the exercises experiencing low levels of anxiety, classified as “at risk for exercise dependence”. For exercisers that reported low levels of anxiety symptoms (i.e. scores below 7), obsessive passion for exercise was a positive statistically significant predictor (absolute risk difference = 8.6%). Overall, the results highlight anxiety as a main risk factor behind exercise dependence. Also, the risk of exercise dependence may increase either from obsessive passion or as a coping strategy for anxiety. Furthermore, results may illustrate two types of exercise dependence; “primary” exercise dependence driven mainly by an obsessive passion for exercise and “secondary” exercise dependence where exercise function as a strategy to cope with anxiety. © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Cycle commuting have been shown to promote major health effects, studies showing as much as 41% lower overall mortality compared to car or collective transport (Celis-Morales et al 2017). Yet, for many of us, there are significant behavioral barriers in changing our transport behavior. On the positive note, studies have shown that bikes providing electric assistance when pedaling (pedelecs) also have positive effects on cardiovascular health and helps people meet physical activity recommendations. It is possible that pedelecs could facilitate active transport by reducing some perceived behavioral barriers by enhancing autonomous motivation in line with self-determination theory (SDT).   The overall purpose was to examine underlying motives for using the pedelec above passive transport (car, bus). Semi-structured interviews (N=14) were used to study motivational aspects of participation in a community based pedelec project. Qualitative content analysis revealed that motives to choose the pedelec was health reasons (regular exercise), economic reasons (e.g. avoid having two cars), environmental reasons (to reduce environmental impact) and personal values (e.g. related to exercise identity).   These four motivational themes can be related to the tenets of SDT and the significance of autonomous motivation for behavioral regulation. The step from passive to active transport might be challenging, but facilitating use of pedelecs and appropriate communication policy might facilitate such a transition. Application of SDT and addressing the motivational themes found in this study could shed some light on motivational drives for active transport and inform community interventions and policies design to adopt sustainable transport behaviors.

Objective

A community in Sweden runs a project aiming to stimulate citizens to choose active transport to reduce city car traffic, emissions and noise; and to promote residents' health by increased physical activity. Citizens can borrow an electric bike providing electric assistance when pedaling (pedelec) for free for three months to “try and feel”, and are then offered to buy the bike after this period to a reduced price. The project has engaged approximately 500 participants over three years (2015-2017) distributed in three groups per year. Drawing from self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to examine underlying motives for choosing to use the pedelec above passive transport (car, bus) during and after the three month period.  

 Methods

Semi-structured interviews were performed with eight informants who had participated in the project during 2014-2016. These will be complemented with another 8-10 interviews from the 2017 participant groups. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore and describe attitudes, behaviors, goals and barriers regarding informants’ motives to physical activity in general, as well as specifically directed towards using pedelecs. The interviews were complemented with quantitative measures in two of the groups from 2017 before, during and after participation (N=19).

 Results

Analyses revealed four main themes of motivation. The informants chose the pedelec as a means of transport for health reasons (regular exercise), for economic reasons (avoid having two cars, reducing gasoline and parking costs), for environmental reasons (to reduce environmental impact) and for personal values (related to exercise identity and/or environmental-friendly). Those who used the pedelec regularly felt that their fitness improved and that they had more energy in everyday life. Participants also felt that the pedelec facilitated cycling to a larger extent, and in addition to using it for transport for work or school, they also used it for shopping and leisure activities.

 Conclusions

The step from passive to active transport might be challenging, but a pedelec might facilitate such a transition and reduce perceived behavioral barriers. This study could shed some light on how community interventions can be designed to facilitate autonomous motivation towards more sustainable transport behaviors.