Study of sports motivation and participation in physical activity among students at Ras Al-khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Motivation is a vital predictor of ongoing and possible future sports commitment. Therefore, understanding of motivation in sports engagement is crucial. The purpose of the current study is to investigate different types of sports participation motivation based on demographic characteristics and level of physical activities participation among university students.Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at Ras Al-Khaimah Medical and Health Science University, United Arab Emirates over a period of three months from March to May 2018. A pre validated structured self-administrative questionnaire was used to collect data from 197 participants from different colleges.Results: About 60% of the students were motivated for participation in physical activity, out of which, 63.6 % (75/118) were more significantly motivated by intrinsic than by extrinsic motives (Mean score =4.89 ± 1.07 vs 4.32 ±1.03, p=0.00). More than seventy percent (71, 6%) of students were involved in low-level physical activity, out of which 43.3% (61/141) were a motivated. There was significant gender, nationality, father occupation and mother education difference with respect to intrinsic motivation. However, no significant difference was found in relation to age, level of physical activity, socioeconomic status.Conclusion: our study demonstrated intrinsic motivation for participation in physical activity based on gender, nationality, father occupation and mother education of university students.