The relationship between motor skill proficiency, athletic identity, and physical activity level among adolescents

This study aimed to determine the strength of relationships between motor skill proficiency (MSP), athletic identity (AI), and physical activity (PA) level while considering gender differences. Understanding these relationships would help design strategies that motivate children and adolescents to be active across the lifespan. Ninety students (aged 11-14 years; 45 boys, 45 girls) from J. T. Hutchinson Middle School (Lubbock, Texas) completed two questionnaires, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale and the Physical Activity Questionnaire, to gauge AI and PA respectively. To assess MSP, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition was administered. Bootstrapping method was used to analyze simple mediation. The results revealed that AI mediates the relationship between MSP and PA. However, separate analyses between genders reflected a clear dichotomy. The significant mediating effect of AI was found only among boys but not among girls. Among boys, motor skillfulness (MSP) influenced self-perception as an athlete (AI), which then influenced the propensity to engage in an active lifestyle (PA). On the other hand, among girls, neither athletic “sense” (AI) nor involvement in activity (PA) appears to be influenced by motor skillfulness (MSP). The extant differences between genders suggest different strategies in promoting activity. However, the strong association between AI and PA for both genders highlights the important role of self-perceptions in attaining active lifestyle. Interventions should target shaping positive perceptions through skill improvement to encourage more girls or inactive adolescents (boys/girls) to participate in sport/activity.