Predicting attitudes and physical activity in an "at-risk" minority youth sample: A test of self-determination, theory

Objectives: The present work sought to extend past research by (i) testing a model of motivational processes based on the tenets of self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan [1991. A motivational approach to self. Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation. Vol. 38. Perceptives on motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press]) in an "at-risk" minority youth sample, (ii) exploring the relationship between motivation and physical activity behavior and attitudes, and (iii) assessing autonomy-support for physical activity from two social agents. Design: A field cross-sectional design, including an assessment of physical activity over 4 days using pedometers. Methods: Complete data were obtained from 237 predominantly low socioeconomic Hispanic 5th-8th grade students (M age = 12.11 years; SD = 1.21) from an elementary school located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. Four days of physical activity data, height and weight measurements, and responses to a multi-section inventory were collected. A model of hypothesized relationships among the study variables was examined using structural equation modeling. Results: The proposed model demonstrated a very good fit to the data [Satorra-Bentler chi(2) (24) = 46.88, p