A Study of the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Motivation to Participate in Sports Activities in Disabled and Veterans of Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari Province

This study aimed at determining the relationship between socioeconomic status and motivation to participate in sports activities in the disabled and veterans of Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiary province. The present study was descriptive correlation and 167 athlete disabled and veterans were selected as the study sample. The Questionnaire of Socioeconomic Status (Ghodratnama, 2013) and Motivation to Participate in Physical Activity Questionnaire by Hung (2010) were used. Their reliability was determined by Cronbach's alpha (Socioeconomic Status: α=0.86 and Motivation to Participate in Physical Activity: α=0.81) and their face validity was confirmed by 12 physical education professors. Descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple liner regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results showed a direct and significant relationship between socioeconomic status and motivation to participate (r=0.226, P=0.01). There was a direct and significant relationship between rate of income, economic class and education (the components of the socioeconomic status) and the motivation to participate in sports activities. However, there was no significant relationship between housing status and motivation to participate in sports activities. Results of multiple regression showed that the rate of income (β=0.197) and education (β=0.201) were the most important predictors of motivation to participate in sports activities in the disabled and veterans.