RELATIONSHIP AMONG MOTIVES FOR BEGINNING, MAINTENANCE AND INTERNATIONAL SPORT SUCCESS

Abstract

Higinio González-García, Antonia Pelegrín Muñoz, Alfonso Trinidad Morales

The goals of this research were to: check whether there are differences among succeeded athletes and non-succeeded and sport beginning and maintenance motives; and to know what are the motives for beginning and maintenance in sport linked with international successes. The sample consisted of 502 athletes, of them 38 were internationally successful. The results showed that athletes with international successes have a higher prevalence in starting and staying in the sport for the reason "compete with other athletes", than those athletes who did not achieve international success. The regression analysis showed that the motive for beginning “compete with other athletes” was linked to get international successes in the beginning (OR=1.17) and in maintenance (OR=2.48). It was concluded that athletes with international successes have higher levels of the motive “compete with other athletes”, both in the beginning and in the maintenance.