The Effect of Psychological Factors on Motivation of Children's Participation in Sport

Regular sports participation has beneficial effects on physical, mental and social health. Also, it has positive effects on the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, physical appearance, increase self-concept and external credibility, reduce suicidal ideation and significantly increase life expectancy (3). It is clear to all that increasing sports participation at the community level can lead to the development of health, economic and social issues (5). Sports capacities in different groups have been fully discussed and emphasized (6). Although children's motivation to participate in sports has been a common area of research, but so far, no purposeful and comprehensive effort has been made to improve the scientific evidence on the factors involved in children's motivation to participate in sports (9). There is widespread agreement that the main goals of children's sports are to provide innate experiences, motivate and maintain interest so that they tend to continue playing throughout their lives (14-11). Motivation is defined as all the internal motivations of behavior, whether born or acquired, conscious or unconscious (15). Although the reasons for participation in physical activity are very complex, but motivation is one of the most important factors that stimulate and maintain participation in physical activity (16). Motivation is a psychological concept that motivates a person to a desirable goal and is considered as a psychological force that includes the intention and direction of performing a particular behavior (17). Understanding the root causes that motivate children to engage in physical activity has been a very fundamental issue (18,19).  Sports participation is associated with many psychological and social benefits, beyond the benefits of physical activity, including improved self-control and emotional regulation (23).Various psychological factors can affect children's participation and motivation (24, 25). Participating in sports activities increases self-confidence among individuals. On the other hand, increasing self-confidence in turn increases self-esteem. Self-esteem is the degree of approval, approval, acceptance and value that a person feels towards himself (26). Social relationship takes place with different goals, including emotional, intellectual, value or traditional, and one of the situations in which the establishment of social relations and interactions has a special meaning is sports (29). Mousavi (2020) has investigated the relationship between support and social security with the participation of women in sports in Yasuj. Social support and its components had a positive and direct relationship with sports participation (33). The results of Arianpour et al. (2015) showed that there is a significant relationship between self-efficacy, family social support and friends' social support with sports participation of athletes with disabilities. Lack of attention to the psychological factors affecting the motivation of children's participation in the sport of volleyball has caused that today a suitable platform in the sport of volleyball in identifying and attracting children in this sport is not created. On the other hand, the uncertainty of psychological factors affecting the motivation of children's participation in volleyball has caused the capacity of the existing psychological structure in individual and environmental areas to improve the motivation of children's participation in volleyball. This has led to a full understanding of the research gap on the impact of psychological factors on children's motivation to participate in volleyball. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of psychological factors on motivation of children's participation in sport.

The statistical population of this study is all children aged 9 to 11 years in Urmia that there was no complete information in this regard. According to the Cochran sample size formula in the conditions of uncertainty of the statistical population, 384 people were identified as the research sample. To collect data, the questionnaire of psychological factors of Bafandeh et al. (2020) and the questionnaire of motivation for sports participation of Gil et al. (1983) were used. In order to analyze the data of the present study, the structural equation method was used. The whole process of data analysis was performed in SPSS and PLS software.

The results showed that mental health, social interactions, social support, self-efficacy and self-esteem have a significant effect on motivation to participate in sports.

The results of the present study showed that mental health, social interactions, social support, self-efficacy and self-esteem have a significant effect on the motivation of children's sports participation in volleyball. Clancy et al. (2017) found that psychological issues play an important role in the development of sports participation (17). Also, Fry and Moore (2019) pointed out that paying attention to children's psychological issues can provide the ground for their participation in sports (19). Paying attention to psychological issues can guide people's decisions and this issue can seriously affect children's attitudes. Beliefs mean enjoyable, time consuming, friends and family members predicted intention and behavior in sports participation. Lack of self-confidence and self-efficacy in performing a skill, low understanding of competence and the need to feel competent lead to withdrawal from exercise (39). Based on the findings, it is concluded that psychological factors of mental health, social interactions, social support, self-efficacy and self-esteem significantly predict sports participation among children. According to the research findings, family, friends and other people who are in contact with children need to increase their participation in physical activities with their support and increase self-efficacy. Therefore, when the family takes care of the children and respects their sports desires and admires, loves and loves them, the person understands this support and continues to participate in activities. Sports are aroused. According to the results, the higher the self-esteem among children, the higher the motivation for their athletic progress. It can be said that self-esteem is a factor in psychological development in children and plays a significant role in the flow of thought, feelings, values and goals and motivates the development of sports among children. Social interactions among children positively lead to a desire to continue and participate in sports activities (42). Social interactions enhance exchanges between members or children, and exchanges between children in different groups have a positive effect on their behaviors and motivate them to participate in sports activities. Psychological issues such as mental health, social interactions, social support, self-efficacy and self-esteem can be important in creating a suitable mental environment in children for their presence in sports environments. The present study is limited to children of all children aged 9 to 11 years in Urmia, so generalization of results should be done with caution. Finally, it is suggested that people be made aware of the extent of their participation in physical activity, of what they really are at that level, be Action. Based on the results, it is necessary that psychological factors affecting the motivation of children's sports participation be considered by officials and experts in order to improve the mental and physical health of children in addition to increasing sports participation.