A person-centered approach in physical education to better understand low-motivation students

El objetivo de este estudio fue testar una secuencia motivacional que explicara la intención de ser físicamente activo entre estudiantes de educación física poco motivados.

The purpose of this study was to offer a motivational sequence that explains physical activity intentions among low-motivated students. Participants included 1872 students (Mage = 15.01; SDage = .83) from three countries. Cluster analysis, i.e., a person-centred approach, and a multi-group structural equation model, i.e., dimensional approach, were used. The existence of three motivational profiles, namely high motivation, high motivation with low ego and low-moderate motivation, was revealed. A first tested model, based on previous research findings, was found not to be invariant across the different profiles. A new model was tested and it was determined to be suitable for the low-moderate motivation profile. The results revealed that widely accepted motivational sequences to explain intention to be physically active in the future may be inapplicable for the least motivated students. Findings suggest that dispositional flow may play an especially important role for low-motivated students to engage in future physical activity.