Identifying social and psychological influences affecting children’s attitudes about physical activity is an important step in understanding individual differences in children’s activity involvement. This study examined the influence of parental socialization and children’s psychological characteristics upon attraction to physical activity. Fourth-grade children (N=81) completed questionnaires assessing perceived physical competence and attraction to physical activity. Parents also completed questionnaires assessing their physical activity orientations and level of encouragement of their child’s physical activity. A proposed model linking four sets of social and psychological variables was tested through path analysis. The results generally supported the hypothesized model and suggested that parental physical activity orientations, parental encouragement levels, children’s gender, and children’s perceived physical competence are important influences upon children’s attraction to physical activity.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the contribution of parental socialization processes and gender to children's interest in physical activity using Eccles' expectancy-value model of motivation. An additional purpose was to examine the nature of these relationships among children of a lower socioeconomic level, a sample that has been under-represented in pediatric exercise research to date. Fourth-through sixth-grade children (N = 107) from a large metropolitan school district were participants in this study and completed questionnaires assessing attraction to physical activity, perceived physical competence, and perceptions of their parents' physical activity beliefs and behaviors. Multivariate regression analyses revealed a significant relationship between parental socialization processes and children's perceived physical competence and attraction to physical activity. Gender differences were also identified and were primarily related to liking of the exertional characteristics of physical activity and exercise. These findings are consistent with theory and research regarding parental and gender-role socialization during childhood.

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This study was designed to examine potential correlates of positive and negative affect experienced by young athletes during a competitive sport season. An index of both positive affect, season-long enjoyment, and negative affect, competitive trait anxiety (CTA) were included. The study was grounded within Harter's (1978, 1981a) theory of competence motivation. Male and female participants (N=207) in an agency-sponsored youth basketball league completed self-report measures of self-esteem, perceived basketball competence, intrinsic/extrinsic motivational orientation, perceived parental pressure, and frequency of performance and evaluative worries. Team win/loss records and estimates of each player's ability were obtained from the coaches. Multiple regression analyses revealed that for both boys and girls, greater enjoyment was predicted by high intrinsic motivation and low perceived parental pressure. High CTA was predicted for both boys and girls by low self-esteem. These findings are consistent with predictions stemming from competence motivation theory.

Youth sport research has failed to address the influential role of socialization agents in shaping children's motivational processes in sport. The purpose of this paper is to encourage the integration of socialization influences, particularly parental behaviors, into the study of children's sport motivation. The impact of socialization influences in shaping those cognitions widely regarded to influence children's sport behavior is examined. Special attention is paid to related research in academic settings that identifies the influence of parental socialization patterns upon children's self-perception characteristics, orientations toward achievement, and patterns of motivated behavior. Recommendations are made for incorporating socialization influences into youth sport research within the framework of cognitive-developmental theory.