Cultural influence on youth's motivation of participation in physical activity.

Yan, Jin H. ; McCullagh, Penny

Exploring the relative influences of nature and nurture on human motor development is an important topic (Barrett & Bailey, 1988; Thomas & French, 1985). In terms of environmental influences, Yan and Thomas (1995) identified several culture-related characteristics (American and Chinese) in youth's physical activity patterns as well as cultural influences on gender differences in physical activity. Specifically, American children were more favorable to competitive sports while their Chinese counterparts were more likely to get involved in fitness related physical activities. In addition, parental influences on children's selection of physical activities were also recognized. Chinese parents expect their children to participate in health or fitness-related activities whereas American parents support or encourage children's participation in team or individual sports. Thus, social-cultural factors seem to affect children's patterns of physical activities.

However, questions remain relative to how and why children or adolescents in two different cultures (Western and Oriental) choose different types of physical activities. To facilitate the understanding of such questions and further promote an active lifestyle for children in a multicultural society like the United States, developmentally assessing psychological factors such as participatory motivation in sports or physical activities important (Duda, 1987; Morgan, Griffin, & Heyward, 1996). However, few studies have examined cross-cultural differences in psychological factors related to physical activity despite the plea for systematic investigations provided over a decade ago by Duda and Allison (1990).

Understanding youth motives to participate in sports or physical activities has been a subject of interest for many researchers and practitioners (e.g., Alderman & Wood, 1976; Ewing, Seefeldt, & Brown, 1996; Gill et al., 1983; Gould, Feltz, & Weiss, 1985; National Federation of State High School Association, 1997; Roberts, 1993). Numerous studies have examined the question of whether there are differences in youth motives across sports, age, gender, and culture and suggest that children or adolescents are subject to the environmental influences in their motivation to participate in certain physical activities (e.g., Brustad, 1988; Duda, 1985; Gould et al., 1985; White & Duda, 1994). Thus, investigating the diversities in motivation of participation may shed light on the underlying reasons of why children or adolescents take part in various forms of physical activity or sports.

Another issue frequently discussed in the area of youth sport participation is related to gender-related differences in sports performance and participatory motives (e.g., Thomas & French, 1985; White & Duda, 1994). it was thought that in early childhood, environmental factors such as parental expectations had a higher influence on motor performance than biological factors or physical characteristics. During middle childhood or adolescence, both environmental and biological factors seem to have a great effect on motor performance (see a quantitative review by Thomas & French, 1985). Due to the fact that a growing number of female participants are involved in all levels of sports or physical activities (National Federation of State High School Association, 1997), an important question is why young females either demonstrate or do not demonstrate gender stereotypes in terms of the selection and modes of physical activities. Gender comparisons of motivation in sport participation within a particular culture may not be as effective as a cross-cultural study in terms of distinguishing the influences of environmental and biological influences on young females (Duda, 1985).

"Cross-cultural" comparison is one of the most common research paradigms for studying environmental influences on human development (cognitive, social, and motor development). For instance, Chiu (1972) examined the differences in cognitive styles between Chinese and American children and found that Chinese children are more likely to engage in individual problem solving while American children participate in team or group exploration. Cook and Chi (1984), and Domino (1992) observed culture-related diversity in social interactions (e.g., cooperation or competition behaviors) between American and Chinese-American children. A number of studies compared the levels of children's motor performance between sub-cultures and across cultures (e.g., Dinucci & Shows, 1977; East & Hensley, 1985; Yan & Thomas, 1995). These studies identify a number of contributing factors (e.g., cultural expectations, social-economic background, parental/siblings influences, or peer's impacts) that may have profound impact on the observed behavioral differences in cognitive, social, or motor domains of human development.

We could identify limited research on participation motives of individuals from Eastern societies compared to those in Western cultures. Hayashi and Weiss (1994) compared American and Japanese runners on reasons for participation. Both groups of runners agreed that personal challenge, health and fitness, and achievement are important motives. However, only the Japanese runners suggested positive experience and group membership as important and only the American runners chose competition and recognition as important motives.

Wang and Wiese-Bjornstal (1996) compared the motivation of male and female athletes in the People's Republic of China for children who participated in sport at normal schools compared to children who were involved in sport at spare-time schools. Children in these latter schools were selected based on sport talent as early as three year old and spend 15 to 20 hours a week training in their sport in addition to attending regular academic sessions. Because the opportunities for females are greater in the spare-time schools, the authors predicted that the motives for males and females would differ between the types of schools. The findings revealed that children in spare-time sport programs had higher rankings on competition, energy release, family influence and achievement needs than children from normal schools who rated team and social factors as most important. There were also differences between the boys and girls. Boys rated fitness, energy release, and friendship higher than girls, while girls rated team orientation as more important than boys. Contrary to predictions, there was no interaction between gender and type of school program.

The current research serves as a follow-up for the previous study by Yan and Thomas (1995) that demonstrated cultural differences in youth's physical activity. Using a cross-cultural approach, this study was designed to examine the cultural influences on participatory motivation in physical activities among People's Republic of China (PRC), American born Chinese (ABC), and American children (USA). It is expected that there will be a greater difference in youth motives for sports between PRC and USA than the difference between ABC and USA. This may be accounted for by the social and cultural variations (between PRC and USA) and similarities (between ABC and USA) for these three groups of participants. It is also expected that gender discrepancies in motivation to participate in sports will be greater between cultures than within cultures. In addition, age-related differences within a culture may be smaller than the age differences between cultures. From a developmental view, this study may further test the notion that socio-cultural environments affect human motor development as well as influence gender differences in physical activity patterns. Practically, understanding cultural differences in children's motives for participation may result in a better organization of physical activity opportunities that offers children expected sport experiences and movement learning outcomes in a multi-cultural society.

Method

Participants

Three groups of child volunteers from 12 to 16 years of age (total 424; 202 females and 2:22 males) were invited to participate in this research. These participants were Chinese children (73 females and 82 males, from the metropolitan areas of Guangzhou City, Mainland China, PRC), American born Chinese children (66 females and 56 males, from the Chinese communities, churches, and Chinese language schools in metropolitan areas of major cities in the Southwest United States, ABC), and American children (63 females and 84 males, from local schools in the same metropolitan areas of USA) (1). Participants in each group were further divided into two age groups: 12 to 13 years of age and 14 to 16 years of age. A consent form was signed by each participant or the parent prior to answering the questions in the questionnaire.

Materials

A physical activity motivation questionnaire (Iowa Sports School Questionnaire; Gill et al., 1983) was used to collect data about youth's sports participatory motivation at participant's school or church. A reliability of .85 was determined by using the technique of split-halves. Based on the nature of the question, the 30 questions of the "physical activity motivation questionnaire" (Gill et al., 1983) were categorized into three general areas: (1) motivations related to skill improvement/competition; (2) motivations related to social activities/fitness enhancement; and (3) other types of motivation (see Table 1).

Design and Procedure

The PRC children were surveyed in the city of Guangzhou, Mainland China, and the data were processed in the United States. Questionnaires were administrated to ABC and USA children in the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, AZ, United States. Every participant completed each of a total of 30 questions of the questionnaire. Each participant was requested to indicate his/her response on a three-point scale that consisted of a high point of "very important", an intermediate point of "somewhat important", and a low point of "not at all important" for each of the questions. For example, in a question like "I want to improve my skills", a child indicated his or her response in the box of "very important", "somewhat important", or "not at all important" according to his/her actual motives.

Demographic information about the self-reported race or ethnic background, gender, age, grade in school, and language proficiency (Chinese) was also gathered. Due to the fact that a majority of the ABC children were not proficient in Chinese language, the ABC and USA children were given the English version of the questionnaire. The PRC children were given the Chinese version of the questionnaire. Both versions of the questionnaire asked precisely the same questions regarding the motivations of participating in physical activities or sports.

To ensure the equivalence of both versions of the questionnaire, a "back-translation" was implemented: (1) comparing the Chinese version with the Chinese version back translated by a Chinese-speaking scholar (to determine the similarities between these two version); and (2) comparing the English version (original) with the English version translated by a Chinese-speaking scholar (to determine the similarities between the original version and the translated version). Pilot work with 48 children (28 PRC children and 20 USA children) was also conducted with both versions to assure the correct interpretation of the 30 questions. The test-retest correlations for the English and Chinese version of the questionnaire are .93 and .89, respectively, suggesting both versions had an acceptable reliability.

Each participant's responses (based on a three-level scale-"very important", "somewhat important", and "not at all important") for the 30 questions indicated his/her primary and secondary reasons for the participation in sports/physical activities. The selection of the category "not at all important" for a particular motivation suggests that the individual might not be motivated by that particular reason. First, each individual's responses were categorized into the three general areas. Second, within each group of participants, a total number of response in a given category of motives and its percentage relative to an overall number of response were calculated. Finally, Chi-Square analyses were performed to identify the group, gender-, and age-related differences in each of the three general motivational areas. The percentage of each type of primary motivation was examined by Chi-Square analyses and reported for the three groups of participants (PRC, ABC, and USA children) and for each gender (male and female).

Results

Of particular interest of this study are the differences in participatory motives in sports or physical activities across the three groups of participants and gender-related differences within and between the groups. The results from this study (Figures 1 and 2) indicate that the USA participants, regardless of their gender, appear to take part in sports or physical activities primarily due to the reasons of sport competition and improving skills, X 2 (421) = 4.88,p<.05. On the other hand, the PRC participants tend to favor socializing and getting fit as motives more than their USA and ABC counterparts for both males and females, X 2 (421) = 6.28, p<.01. In addition, the ABC participants seem to enjoy physical activities and sports for relatively more broad and balanced reasons than the PRC and USA participants, X 2 (421) = 3.55, p<.05.

[FIGURES 1-2 OMITTED]

Furthermore, the inter-cultural gender differences in sport motivation were greater than the intra-cultural gender differences in sport motivation, X 2 (201) = 4.85, p<.05. Finally, the inter-cultural age differences in sport motivation were greater than the intra-cultural age differences in sport motivation, X 2 (201) = 3.98, p<.05. No age-associated differences were noted in participatory motives for the three groups. Even though the data collected are limited to some extent (e.g., sample size or representations), the results suggest that children or adolescents in different cultures may be subject to the environmental influences (e.g., socio-cultural background, parental expectations), as a result, demonstrating culture-associated discrepancies in their motivations for participation in physical activities.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine the cultural influences on youth's participatory motivation in physical or sport activities. Age- and gender-related differences in sport motivation were also examined within and between cultures. The data seem to support the research assumption that environmental factors such as socio-cultural differences generally result in various types of motivation for involvement (e.g., skill improvement or competition; social interaction or fitness enhancement; or traveling, having fun, and using equipment). The fact that American and Chinese cultures differ considerably in many aspects of socio-cultural or natural environment (e.g., history, life style, value system, living surrounding, and/or climate) may influence youth's moral, social, cognitive, and motor development (Chiu, 1972; Cook & Chi, 1984; Domino, 1992, Yan & Thomas, 1995). Within the methodological limitations of this study, several possible implications can be seen from the results of this research.

In the current study, three groups of individuals were recruited from different socio-cultural environments or backgrounds (PRC and USA children/adolescents). In general, the USA young males and females participate in sports or physical activities due to the motivation of competition and improving skills. However, the PRC children were primarily motivated by socialization and wellness. The underlying reasons for these differences can be complex, but socio-cultural factors like parental expectations or encouragement of sport involvement may be of critical importance to the observed differences in the motivation to participate in physical activities or sports (Yah & Thomas, 1995).

First, for instance, the standard of living and the overall level of sport performance or involvement in Mainland China are relatively lower than in the United States. Second, in China, the phenomenon of a single child family ("one-child policy" by the Chinese government) may result in a possibility of choosing a child's career in a more careful or thorough way. In addition, for Chinese children, the short- or long-term financial compensations from an extensive and competition-oriented involvement in sports are rather uncertain (except the sport of men's soccer, one of the most commercialized sports in China, and a few others). Finally, in Mainland China, there is an increasing demand of medical or life insurance for the athletes in the event of sport injuries. Yet, for most of the young Chinese sport participants, these securities are limited or not available. Relative to these situations, most of the USA young participants may have more advantages than their PRC counterparts.

Consequently, for PRC children and their parents, these constraints, difficulties, or social phenomenon could lead to an impression that competition may not be the priority for physical activities or sports. Instead, physical wellness is the most important reason for participation. Parents may not want to invest their financial resources or time for their children's competition-related involvement. To a certain extent, the parental expectations may change, shape, or dominate their children's selection of physical activities, as demonstrated in the study by Yan and Thomas (1995). Parental influence on youth's motivation for participating in physical activities or sports may, in general, explain why PRC children place a higher priority on the category of "social interaction and fitness" over other categories of "competition or improving skills" when the PRC children are compared with the USA children regardless of the age and gender of the participants (Figure 1 and 2).

The ABC children (the second or third generation of the Chinese immigrants) have Chinese ethnicity and exposure to both cultural backgrounds (family and society), which may result in the demonstration of behavioral characteristics shared by the PRC and USA children. In addition to their ethnic backgrounds, in a relatively small environment-family, the ABC may follow some Chinese family traditions. Parental influences or expectations can be an important contributor not only in their motivation for sports participation, but also for other decisions. On the other hand, their daily activities in a bigger environment (society) such as in school, neighborhood, churches, or other community activities, as well as the interactions with the friends or peers, the ABC children certainly are under the influence of Western cultures and realities. Alternatively, their value systems are close or similar to their American peers. As a result, they demonstrated their own patterns of motivation and shared some characteristics of the PRC and USA children.

The comparisons of motivation among the participants from different cultures may be helpful in understanding youth's physical activity behaviors. For example, Yan and Thomas (1995) reported that the USA children had higher percentages of involvement in "team sports" than the PRC and ABC children. The PRC children were more likely to participate in "recreational activities" or "fitness exercises" than the USA boys and girls. The ABC children participated in "individual sports" more than the USA and PRC children. The motivation patterns or discrepancies demonstrated in the present study, to a certain extent, explain differences in selecting physical activities among children from different cultural backgrounds. This study suggests that cultural differences, rather than gender- or age-related differences, may affect the motivation for sport participation. Environmental factors can also contribute to the observed behavioral differences in children's motivation.

Overall, within the methodological restrictions of this research, the findings suggest that among the three groups of participants, there were clear differences in youth's motivation for physical activity or sports. The influence of socio-cultural environment contributes to the differences in youth's physical activities. Examining ethnicity or biological influence on youth's physical, psychological, and motor development is needed to further our understanding of child development. From a practical stand point, using a cross-cultural approach may facilitate our understanding of youth's participatory motives for sports or physical activities, which can be helpful in organizing sports or physical activities for a diverse population. Table 1. The Questions and Categories in the Questionnaire I. Motivations related to skill improvement/competition 1. I want to improve my skills 2. I like to win 3. I like the excitement 4. I like the teamwork 5. I want to learn new skills 6. I like to do something I'm good at 7. I like the action 8. I like to compete 9. I want to go on to a higher level 10. I want the challenge 11. I like the team spirit II. Motivations related to social activities/fitness enhancement 1. I like to have fun 2. 1 want to be with my friends 3. I want to get rid of energy 4. I want to stay in shape 5. I want to release tension 6. I like to get exercise 7. I like to feel important 8. I like being on a team 9. I want to be physically fit 10. I want to be popular 11. I want to gain status or recognition 12. I like to meet new friends 13. I like the coaches or instructors III. Other types of motivation 1. I like to travel 2. My parents or close friends want me to play 3. I like the rewards 4. I like to have something to do 5. I like to get out of the house 6. I like to use the equipment or facilities

(1) PRC children/adolescents were the individuals who lived in Mainland China. ABC participants were those whose lived in the US and both parents were Chinese (from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) and; Children/adolescents who had at least one Caucasian parent and lived in the US were USA participants.

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Address Correspondence To: Jin H. Yah, Ph.D., the Department of Kinesiology/PE, California State University, Hayward, CA 94542-3062.