The fun integration theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding the totality of determinants that make sport fun. Understanding the relative prioritisation of those determinants for youth sport participants is one way of creating environments that encourage continued participation and mitigate dropout. Like many sports around the world, in Sweden, dropout in youth ice hockey typically occurs during early to mid-adolescence. This study is part of ongoing efforts to explore determinants of fun, and players' prioritisation of those determinants, in Swedish ice hockey. Junior ice hockey players (n = 343) aged 10-19 years were asked to rate the importance of 83 fun determinants previously identified among Swedish youth athletes; these determinants were organized into 11 fun factors in parallel with previous research, and importance of the fun factors and determinants explored by subgroup comparisons. Results indicated few differences, and overwhelming similarity of players' fun priorities when compared by sex, age, and perceived competence, with the fun factors Trying Hard, Positive Team Dynamics, and Positive Coaching of highest priority across all subgroups, and the fun determinant 'trying your best' rated highest. These findings support the fun integration theory's previous findings of a fun ethos, that is, a distinct and similar prioritisation of the fun factors and determinants regardless of player characteristics. Overall, results demonstrate generalisability of the fun integration theory and further contributing to this important and growing body of knowledge. © The Author(s) 2026

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivations behind participants' choices of active transport using electric bicycles over passive transport (e.g. going by bus or car) in a community-based e-bike project called 'Elcyklist'.

Methods: This study involved 17 participants who had previously taken part in the Projekt Elcyklist in the Halmstad community. The participants ranged in age from 32 to 66 years, with an average age of 44 years. The group consisted of 10 women and 7 men.

Results: We found two major themes and seven subthemes around positive experiences and benefits as motivations for using e-bikes.

Conclusions: From analyzing the data, themes and subthemes were identified. The results are divided into two major themes: Experience of well-being and Benefits in everyday life, which consist of four and three subthemes respectively. In keeping with self-determination theory, the interpretation was that participants' basic psychological needs were satisfied by using e-bikes, which, in turn, improved well-being and sustainable motivation. The study showed that the opportunity to borrow an e-bike can be a good way to promote motivation for active transportation, appeasing traffic congestions in current infrastructure, and also promoting human health. © 2025 the author(s).

This thesis aimed to explore factors that can influence the likelihood of adolescents’ participation and dropping out of team sports. Study I was a systematic review and meta-analysis of factors associated with dropout from team sports among adolescents. The results showed that constructs related to motivation and years of sports experience had the strongest relationship with adolescents’ team sports participation and dropout. Study II aimed to investigate how combinations of multiple demographic and motivational factors were associated with the risk of dropout in adolescent soccer players using a prospective design. The results indicated that older age, experiencing less autonomy support from the coach, less intrinsic motivation, being female, and a lower socioeconomic status were factors associated with an increased dropout risk. In Study III, the aim was to explore adolescents’ experiences of participating in and dropping out of team sports. A substantial grounded theory was created through coding and constant comparison. The theory ‘Losing fun’ illustrates adolescents’ experiences of participating and dropping out of team sports, which involved navigating demands, perceiving changed demands, and re-evaluating. When adolescents’ navigation of demands makes them perceive changed demands, it initiates a process of re- evaluating their sport. This involves questioning the meaningfulness of their sport and struggling with negative emotions. Finally, when team sports are evaluated as mainly associated with negative emotions and not meaningful anymore, adolescents regard it as not fun and are likely to drop out. Based on the fun integration theory, Study IV aimed to understand what makes soccer fun for adolescents in Sweden by investigating their prioritisation of the fun factors and determinants and comparing sub-groups in the sample (i.e., based on gender, age, perceived competence, and sports program type). The results showed that Trying Hard, Positive Team Dynamics, Positive Coaching, and Learning and Improving were the highest ranked concerning what makes soccer fun, irrespective of gender, age, perceived competence and sports program type. The study findings highlight that facilitating positive social experiences that promote feelings of effort and development is crucial to promoting fun and continued participation in soccer for most adolescents.

Participation in team sports during adolescence may be associated with improved physical, psychological, and social health. Nevertheless, an increasing number of adolescents are leaving team sports (e.g., hockey, soccer). Previous research suggests that dissatisfaction or negative experiences can increase the risk for dropout, yet qualitative studies into adolescents’ perspectives and the underlying mechanisms of dropout remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to explore adolescents’ experiences of participating and dropping out of team sports using constructivist grounded theory. 14 adolescents (5 males and 9 females) between 13 and 18 years old participated in interviews. A substantial grounded theory was created through coding and constant comparison. The results show that dropping out of team sports is a process of “Losing fun” involving two main mechanisms: perceiving changed demands and re-evaluating. When adolescents’ navigation of demands makes them perceive changed demands, it initiates a process of re-evaluating their sport. This involves questioning the meaningfulness of their sport and struggling with negative emotions. Finally, when team sports are evaluated as mainly associated with negative emotions and not meaningful, the adolescents regard it as not fun and drop out. The findings highlight considering adolescents’ perspectives on what makes sport meaningful and fun to promote sustained participation. These study results can be used to inform how team sport clubs foster meaningful and fun environments that support continued engagement. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

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