Predictors of Enjoyment

8/8/2019 Predictors of Enjoyment

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JOURNAL OF SPORT PSYCHOUXJY, 1986, 8. 25-35

Social Psychological Aspects of Competitionfor Male Youth Sport Participants: IV.Predictors of EnjoymentTara K. Scanlan and Rebecca LewthwaiteUniversity of California, Los Angeles

This field study examined predictors of the sport enjoyment experienced by76 male wrestlers, ages 9 to 14 years , who participated in the first two roundsof a competitive wrestling tou rnamen t. Enjoyment was operationalized as theamount of ftin the boys had experienced during the wrestling season and thedegree to which they liked to wrestle. Intrapersonal variables, including theparticipants' age and perceptions of their wrestling abUify, were investigat-ed as predictors of their sport enjoyment. Significant adult infiuences, in-cluding the boys' perceptions of fypical parental and coach behaviors andresponses to them in the sport setting, were also examined in relation to en-joyment. A stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that younger boys,and those who perceived greater wrestling abilify, enjoyed their sport partici-pation mo re than did older boys and those with perceptions of low er abilify.Boys who perceived (a) greate r parental and coach satisfaction with their sea-son's performance, (b) less maternal pressure and fewer negative maternalperformance reactions, and (c) more positive adult sport involvement andinteractions (p < . 10) experienced greater enjoyment when compared withtheir counterparts. Together, these predictors accounted for 38% of the var-iation in wrestlers' enjoyment.

This research was supported by Academic Senate Grant 3188 from UCLA to the

W A). Special thanks are extended to Larry Drinnon and Robert Stolo from C AGW A


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26 / Scanlan and LewthwaiteThis research series involves an in-depth, integrative analysis of a group ofcompetitive youth sport wrestle rs. Previous articles from this multifaceted studyhave focused on competitive stress (Scanlan & Lew thwaite, 1984), performanceoutcomes (Scanlan, Lewthwaite, & Jackson, 1984), and performance expectan-cies (Scanlan & L ewthw aite, 1985). The present article addresses a sorely neglect-ed issue in the literature. That is, what factors contribute to participants' enjoymentof their competitive sport experience?Enjoyment is a critical aspect of the competitive youth sport experienceand a construct deserving independent research attention (Scanlan, 1984).^ Repeat-ed findings have identified the desire for enjoyment or fun as a major reason young-sters give for their participation in sport, while a lack of enjoyment has been

associated with their cessation of involvement (e.g., Gill, Gross, & Huddleston,1985; Sapp & Haubenstricker, 1978; see reviews by Gould & Ho rn, 1984; Pass-er, 1982). Consistent with this evidence, data from the current study showed apositive correlation of .70 (p < .01) between the wrestlers' enjoyment and theirdesire for future participation in the sport. ^Moreover, die importance of enjoyment has been demonstrated even at asituation or contest-specific level of ansdysis by the findings of several studies(Scanlan & Passer, 1978, 1979; Scanlan & Lewthwaite, 1984) which indicatethat, independent of winning or losing, the amount of fun experienced by chil-

dren du ring a contest is inversely related to their levels of postcompetition stressThis evidence has led to the contention that the experience of fun might take someof the edge off one of the most potent causes of postcom petition stressdefea(Scanlan, 1984).Previous research on enjoyment has evolved rather directly from the participation motivation literature (W ankel & Kreisel, 1985). A different approachwas used in the present study and a new set of predictors of enjoyment was investigated. In keeping with the focus of the other aspects of this research projecttwo categories of predictors were exatnined, including intrapersonal variablesand significant adult influences involving mothers, fathers, and coaches. Enjoyment was operationally defined by a scale reflecting (a) the amount of fun theboys felt they had wrestling during their season and (b) how much they likedto wrestle.

Intrapersonal FactorsAge and perce ived abi l i ty were the two int rapersonal predic tors of enjoy

ment inves t iga ted. The impetus for s tudying age was the evidence in the l i te ra


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Predictors of Enjoyment / 27ture on sport dropouts which demonstrates a sharp decline in participation after11 or 12 years of age (e.g., Seefeldt, Blievemicht, Bruce, & Gilliam, 1978; seereview by Gould & Ho rn, 1984). This result, and the finding that enjoyment re-lates to and perhaps even m ediates child ren 's decisions to participate in sport orcease their involvemen t, led to the supposition that enjoyment decreases with age .Sport ability is a competence valued by most participants and, when per-ceived to be high, is related to positive feelings of self-worth (Coopersmith, 1967;Duda, 1981; Harter, 1982; Scanlan, 1982; Veroff, 1969). Positive affect about theself should be associated with greater enjoyment of the activity that fosters thispositive self-regard. Consistent with this contention are findings which show thatability-related factors such as the leaming, testing, and improvement of skillsare important to children's sport participation and enjoyment (Gill, Gross , & H udd-leston, 1985; Sapp & Haubenstricker, 1978; Wankel & Kreisel, 1985; see reviewby Gould & Horn, 1984). Accordingly, it was hypothesized that participants w ithhigher perceptions of their wrestling ability, assessed in this study by compara-tive appraisal, would experience grea ter enjoyment in their sport than boys w ithlower perceived ability.

Significant AdultsAlthough it is commonly observed that parents and coaches have a sub-stantial impact on children's sport experience, very little research has been con-ducted regarding their role in tWs tnilieu. A central objective of the present researchseries has been to gain an understanding of the ways in which these adults in-fiuence important psychological processes in sport including participants' com-petitive stress, motivation, and, now, their enjoyment. There is a paucity ofliterature pertaining to parental influences on enjoyment, and only the elegant

series of behavioral analysis studies conducted by Smith, Smoll, and their as-sociates (Stnith, Smoll, Hunt, Curtis, & Coppel, 1979; Smith, Zane, Smoll, &Coppel, 1983) have investigated the role of the coach in this regard. Their find-ings demonstrated that coaching behaviors a re related strongly to postseason as-sessments of enjoyment, accounting for as much as 53% of the variance in thisvariable. A higher frequency of behaviors depicting techtiical instruction and posi-tive support in terms of reinforcement and tnistake-contingent encouragement wasassociated with greater sport enjoyment.A wide range of adult infiuences was investigated in the current study to

etermine the predictors of child ren's enjoyment. Examined w ere children's per-eptions of characteristic parental and coach (a) evaluative and affective reactions


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28 / Scanlan and LewthwaiteMethod

Participants and OverviewThe participants in this field study were 76 boys, between the ages of and 14 years, who completed two qualification rounds in the final tournamenof their wrestling season. The competitors were members of 16 teams in thCalifornia Age Group Wrestling A ssociation (CAGW A) which represented m andifferent regions of the state, and the boys refiected a wide range of wrestlinabilities and experience. Parental involvement in CAGWA was extensive80%ofth e sample had one or both parents in attendance at the final tournament. Selection of the final tournament for testing allowed for an assessment of predicto

and enjoyment variables that refiected children 's experiences over the course oan entire season. Parental permission was obtained for each study participantFurthe r details regarding this sample are prov ided in the article that initiated thiseries (Scanlan & Lewthwaite, 1984).W restlers' ages were assessed on the Pretoumam ent Questionnaire whicwas completed at team practice sessions about 2 weeks before the final tournament. All other data reported in this article were collected on the morning othe final tournament via the Postweigh-in Questionnaire. This questionnaire waadministered by 30 trained testers from UC LA and the School of Physical Ther

apy, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, immediately following the weigh-iand approximately 2 hours before the start of the tournament competition.Measures

Predictor Variables. Age w as assessed by having participants indicate theage in years. Perceived wrestling ability was measured in a social comparisomanner with the item, "H ow good of a wrestler do you think you are compareto other wrestlers who are your age and who have wrestled for as long as y o u ?Wrestlers responded on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 = very good and 5 =not good at all.Items pertaining to wrestlers' perceptions of characteristic parental ancoach behaviors and responses were subjected to an iterated principal axis factoanalysis to develop reliable measures of these infiuences. A complete descriptioofthe rationale, procedures, and results for this analysis is provided in Scanlaand Lewthwaite (1984).' In brief, eight factors with eigenvalues greater than were derived and scales for each factor were created from the unweighted sumof items loading above .40 on the factor.


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Predictors of Enjoyment / 29To assure an appropriate ratio of subjects to independent variables in thesubsequent regression analysis, only those adult factors that were significantlycorrelated (p < .05) with enjoyment were examined with respect to this depen-

dent variable. This procedure identified five adult factors for further analysis.These factors, their items, and their correlations with enjoyment are presentedin Table 1.Dependent Variable. Two questions on the Postweigh-in Questionnairewere designed to assess the dependent variable, sport enjoyment: "H ow much

Tabie 1Significant Adult Factors and Items Correlated with Enjoyment

Factor's correlationFactors/Items with enjoyment

Factor I: N egative adult affective reactions - .27My mom (dad, coach) is ashamed of me when I don't wrestlewell.My dad (coach) gets upset with me when I don't wrestle weli.

Factor iV: Positive aduit invoivement and interactions .24I wrestle because my parents and I have fun going to the tour-naments together.''I wrestle because my dad or mom helps me with my wrestlingand I like this.*)I wrestle because I like my coach.**My coach tries to make me feel good when I don't wrestlewell.Factor V : Negative adult evaiuations and interactions - .23My dad (coach) makes me uptight and nervous about mywrestling.'^No matter how well I wrestle, my mom (dad, coach) doesn'tthink it is good enough."^Factor Vli: Aduit satisfaction with season's performance .47How pleased do you think your mom (dad, coach) is with theway you wrestled this season?**Factor VIII:Negative maternal interactions - .31My mom makes me uptight and nervous about my wrestling.'^My mom gets upset with me when I don't wrestle well."


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30 / Scanlan and Lewthwaitefan did you have wrestling this season?" and "How much do you like to wres-t l e?" Five-point Likert response scales where 1 = very much fun (very much)and S = no fun at all (not at all) accompanied these qu estions. The fan and likingitems correlated .70 (p < .001). An enjoyment scale was therefore constructedfrom the unw eighted sum of the two items (alpha coefficient = .82) and usedas the dependent measure in the regression analysis.

ResultsA stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine predictors of participants' sport enjoyment. The independent variables in the regres

sion model included the two intrapersonal variables, w restle r's age and perceivedability, and the five significant adult factors: Negative Adult Affective Reactions(Factor I),* Positive Adult Involvement and Interactions (TV), Negative AdulEvaluations and Interactions (V), Adult Satisfaction with Season's Performance(Vn) , and Negative Maternal Interactions (Vni).As Table 2 indicates, five variables contributed to the prediction of enjoy-

ment and together accounted for 38% of the variation in this measure. The in-Table 2Enjoyment Stepwise Regression Summary Tabie

Predictorvariable

Adult satisfaction withseason's performanceNegative maternal inter-actionsAgePerceived abiiity

Positive adult involvementand interactionsNegative adult affectivereactions"Negative adult evaluations

and interactions"

Zero-ordercorrelationwith enjoyment

.47- . 3 1.35.26

.24- . 2 7- , 2 3

Beta

.308- . 2 8 2

.236.224

.161

F

9.279,025.605.332.87

P

,0033,0037.0207.0239.0947


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Predictors of Enjoyment / 31trapersonal variables, age and perceived wrestling ability, and the significant adultfactors, Adult Satisfaction with Season's Performance and Negative Maternal In-eractions, emerged as significant predictors of enjoyment. In addition, the fac-or Positive Adult Involvement and Interactions was predictive at the/? = .0947evel. This latter finding is reported here because of its consistency with hypothe-ized predictors and because this investigation marks the first time these infiuencesoyment. Therefore, it was felt that we should

Discussion

The findings regarding the intrapersonal predictors of age and perceivedty demonstrated that younger children, and those who perceived themselvesthan their coun terparts. If repli-ge-enjoyment relationship, thereby revealing the aspects of the youth spo rt

ning participation at the older age lev el s.' W ith respect to perceived ability,support and extend previous findings by show ing that skill-related factors,astery based (e .g., W ankel & Kreisel, 1985) or social comparison orient-Previously cited research on coaching behaviors shows that coaches playificant role in children 's sport enjoyment. The current findings co rroborateuential in this regard. Com -

(a) by boys w ho felt their parents and coaches were more satis-ho perceived less pressure and fewer negative performance inter-

TV, p < .10).

'While NichoUs' (1978) work on perceived ability development might be used to


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32 / Scanlan and LewthwaiteA comment is in order regarding the perceived ability and significanadult predictors, and their causal relationships to enjoyment. It is possible thahigher perceived ability and more positive adult influences result in greater enjoyment experienced by participants. The previous research on coaching behaviorsuggests some support for this causal interpretation of the significant adult factors. However, other causal relationships cannot be ruled out by the data of thistudy. It is quite possible that (a) greater enjoyment leads to more positive perceptions of the self and others or (b) that more complex bidirectional o r transactional relationships are operating. W hile it will need to be the task of future researchto clarify the causality issue, the results of this study dem onstrate that com petitors ' sport enjoyment is integrally related to their perceptions of ability and to

their perceptions of significant adult behaviors and interactions.A Preliminary Model of Sport Enjoyment

The construct of sport enjoyment requires definition and conceptual clarityEssential steps in this regard involve achieving some sense of the exclusivenesand inclusiveness of the construc t. To do so , a working definition of sport enjoyment and our current thoughts regarding the delineation of the construct are briefly presented below . These contentions focus on (a) distinguishing enjoyment fromthe related construct of intrinsic motivation (also refer to Footnote 1) and (b) providing an expanded view of the enjoyment construct that encompasses enjoymenrelated to the totality of the com petitive sport experience rather than merely thachievement and performance aspects of sport. A preliminary model of sport enjoyment is then presented which reflects this expanded perspective, and examples are given to illustrate its potential usefulness in ordering and identifyinpredictors of this construct.First, with regard to definition, sport enjoyment is conceptualized here aan individual's positive affective response to his or her competitive sport experi

ence which refiects feelings and/o r perceptions such as pleasu re, liking, and experienced fun.Second, sport enjoyment shares a common base with the construct of intrinsic motivation. That shared base involves the underlying perceptions of personal competence and control (self-determination), which are necessary conditions for enjoyment and intrinsic motivation (see Deci & Ryan, 1980, for aelaboration of these perceptions and their relationships to intrinsic motivation)Consistent with Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow (1975), it is contended thapersonal perceptions of competence and control do not need to be consciouslperceived for enjoyment to occur, but they must be intact.Third, at this point the distinction between enjoyment and intrinsic mot


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Predictors of Enjoyment / 33Fourth, the components of the competitive sport experience can be in-corporated into a two-dimensional model of sport enjoyment. As illustrated inFigure 1, we conceptualize the achievement-nonachievement predictors of sportenjoyment on a vertical continuum which is bisected by an intrinsic-extrinsicdimension. The four quadrants of this model can then be used to identify andorder predictors of sport enjoyment. Examples of findings from this and otherstudies, as well as heretofore unexplored pred ictors of sport enjoyment, will beused to briefly explicate the model.

ACHIEVEMENTCOMPETENCE/ COMPETENCE/

CONTROL-SELF CONTROL-OTHERS

INTRINSIC ^P^tA^"' ,.^ EXTRINSIC

MOVEM ENT/ I NONPERFORMANCE/COMPETITION I CONTEXT RELATE D

NONACHIEVEMENT1 A model of sport ei\joyinent. Note: Roman numerals represent the four

Facto rs related to sport enjoyment which fall in the model's four quadrantsinclude the following: Quadrant I (Achievement-Intrinsic): Predictors related to personal per-ceptions of competence and control such as the attainment of masterygoals and perceived ability. Quadrant II (Achievem ent-Extrinsic): Predictors related to personal per-ceptions of competence and control that are derived from other peoplesuch as positive social evaluation and social recognition of spo rt achieve-ment. Factor Vn (Adult Satisfaction with Season's Performance) andFactor Vin (Negative Maternal Interactions) from this study wouldlikely depict this category. Quadrant III (Nonachievement-Intrinsic): Predictors related to (a) physicalactivity and movement such as sensations, tension release, action, andexhilaration, and (b) competition such as excitement.


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34 / Sc an l an and L e w t hw ai t ejoym ent as an important m otivational construct that is central to the competitivesport experience. Its potential sources are numerous and varied, and its consequences include personal choices for participation in or cessation of sport involvement. As such, it may serve as a unifying construct for sport participation anddrop-out literatures.

ReferencesCooperstnith, S. (1967). T h e a n t e c e d e n t s o f s e l f - e s t e e m . San Francisco: Freeman,Csikszentmihali, M, (1975), B e y o n d b o r e d o m a n d a n x i e t y . San Francisco: Jossey-BassDeci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M, (1980). The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivationa

processes. In L. Berkowitz (Ed,), A d va n c e s i n e xp e r i m e n t a l so c i a l p syc h o l o g y-V o l13 (pp. 39-80). New York: Academic Press.

Duda, J.L, (1981), A c ro ss-c u l t u ra l a n a l ys i s o f a c h i e ve m e n t m o t i va t i o n i n sp o r t a n d t h ec lassroom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Dlinois.

Gill, D.L,, Gross, J.B., & Huddleston, S. (1985). Participation motivation in youthsports. In temat iorta l Journa l of Sports Psychology, 14, 1-14.

Gould, D ., & H orn, T , (1984 ). Participation m otivation in young athletes. In J,M , Silvin & R.S, Weinberg (Ed s,), P syc h o l og i c a l f ou n d a t i o n s o f sp or t (pp. 359-370). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Harter, S, (1982). The Perceived Competence Scale for Children. C h i l d D e v e l o p m e n t53 , 87-97.

NichoUs, J.G, (1978). The development of the concepts of effort and ability, perception of own attainment, and the understanding that difficult tasks require m ore ability. C h i l d D e v e l o p m e n t , 49, 800-814.

Passer, M.W. (1982), Children in sport: Participation motives and psychological stressQuest , 3 3 , 23 1 -2 4 4 .

Sapp, M., & Haubenstricker, J, (1978). Mo t i va t i o n fo r jo i n i n g a n d re a son s f or n o t c o nt i n u i n g i n you t h spo rt s p ro g ra m s i n Mi c h i g a n . Paper presented at AAHPERD Conference, Kansas City.Scanlan, T.K, (1982), Social evaluation: A key developmental element in the competition process. In R.A. Magill, M.J. Ash, & F.L, SmoU (Eds.), C h i l d r e n i n s po r(2nd ed.) (pp. 138-152). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Scanlan, T.K. (1984). Competitive stress and the child athlete. In J.M. Silva ID &

R.S. Weinberg (Eds.), P syc h o l og i c a l fo u n d a t i o n s o f spo rt (pp. 118-129), Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Scanlan, T.K., & Lewthwaite, R. (1984). Social psychological aspects of competitionfor male youth sport participants: I. Predictors of competitive stress. Jo u rn a l o


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Predictors of Enjoyment / 35Scanlan T .K., & Passer, M .W . (1978). Factors related to competitive stress among m aleyouth sport participants. Medicine and Science in Sports, 10, 103-108.Scanlan, T.K., & Passer, M.W. (1979). Sources of competitive stress in young female

athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology, 1, 151-159.Seefeldt, V., Blievemicht, D., Bruce, R., & Gilliam, T. (1978). Joint legislative studyon youth sport programs. Phase II: Agency-sponsored sports. State of M ichigan.Smith, R.E., Smoll, F.L., Hunt, E., Curtis, B., & Coppel, D.B. (1979). Psychology andthe bad news bears. In G.C. Roberts & K.M. Newell (Eds.), Psychology of motor

behavior and sport-1978 (pp. 109-130). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Smith, R.E., Zane, N.W.S., Smoll, F.L., & Coppel, D.B. (1983). Behavioral assess-ment in youth sports: Coaching behaviors and children's attitudes. Medicine and

Science in Sport and Exercise, 15, 208-214.Veroff, J. (1969). Social comparison and the development of achievement motivation.

In C.P. Smith (Ed.), Achievement-related motives in children (pp. 46-101). NewYork: Russell Sage.Wankel, L.M., & Kreisel, P.S.J. (1985). Factors underlying enjoyment of youth sports:Sport and age group comparisons. Journal of Sport Psychology, 7, 51-64.

Manuscript submitted: February 14, 1985Revision received: August 2, 1985


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