Julie D. Gregorio
Karen O. Jabrica
University Research Center
New Era University
How to Cite:
Gregorio, J. D., Jabrica, K. O., (2024). Motivational Profiles of Collegiate Varsity Athletes : A Population Study with Effect – Size Analysis. NEU Knowledge Journal: A Compilation of Researches of New Era University Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administrators, 1(1), 63-77.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the levels of motivation among collegiate varsity athletes at a university in Quezon City, Philippines, using the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS). Motivation plays a crucial role in sustaining athletic participation, but limited research has explored sport-specific motivational differences among varsity athletes. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed involving the entire population of 88 varsity athletes representing six sport categories: Badminton, Basketball, Hip-hop Dance, Swimming, Volleyball,and Combat Sports. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the mean PALMS ratings across sport categories. Assumption testing indicated deviations from normality in some groups; therefore, the Kruskal – Wallis H test was utilized to examine differences in PALMS ratings among sport categories. Results showed that athletes in the Combat Sports category demonstrated the highest median motivation score (Mdn =4.14), whereas volleyball players exhibited the lowest (Mdn = 3.42). Although the statistical test did not reach conventional significance (χ²(5) = 10.801, p = 0.055), the effect size (ε² = .124) indicated that approximately 12.4% of the variation in PALMS ratings could be attributed to sport category, reflecting a moderate practical effect. These findings suggest that while sport category contributes to differences in athlete motivation, a larger proportion of motivational variation may be influenced by individual and contextual factors. The results provide useful insights for coaches and program administrators in fostering motivational environments that support athlete engagement across sport categories.
Keywords : athlete motivation, physical activity motivation, varsity athletes, sport category, PALMS
INTRODUCTION
Participation in organized sports and physical activity is widely recognized for its benefits to physical health, psychological well-being, and social integration, particularly among college students. Regular engagement in sport contributes not only to physical fitness but also to improved mental health, social interaction, and overall quality of life (World Health Organization, 2020). In collegiate athletics, sustained participation depends not only on physical ability but also on motivation, which plays a crucial role in athlete persistence, enjoyment, and long-term commitment (Deci &Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000)
Motivation in sport has been widely explained through Self-Determination Theory, which posits that individuals are more likely to sustain engagement in activities when their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are fulfilled (Deci & Ryan, 1985). According to this framework, intrinsic motivation — where athletes participate for enjoyment, personal mastery, or satisfaction — has been consistently associated with higher levels of persistence, performance, and psychological well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). In addition to intrinsic motives, extrinsic motivations such as social recognition, competition, and external expectations may also influence athletes’ engagement in sport (Robert J. Vallerand, 2007).
To assess these multidimensional motives, researchers have developed several instruments that measure motivational orientations toward physical activity. One widely used instrumentis the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS), developed to evaluate different motivational dimensions underlying participation in sport and leisure activities (Morris & Rogers, 2004). The PALMS measures multiple motivational constructs, including mastery, enjoyment, physical condition, psychological condition, appearance, others’ expectations, affiliation, and competition. The scale has demonstrated sound psychometric properties and has been used in various studies examining participation motives in sport and physical activity contexts (Morris & Rogers, 2014).
Previous research suggests that motivational patterns may vary across different types of sports. For instance, athletes participating in team sports may experience stronger social or affiliation motives, whereas athletes in individual sports may place greater emphasis on personal mastery and self-improvement (Vallerand, 2007). Differences in training environments, team dynamics, and competitive structures may also contribute to variations in athletes’ motivational experiences. Despite the growing body of literature on sport motivation, relatively limited research has examined motivational differences among varsity athletes across different sport categories within collegiate settings.
Understanding the motivational profiles of varsity athletes is particularly important for sports administrators, coaches, and program planners, as motivation plays a crucial role in sustaining athlete participation, performance, and well-being. Identifying potential differences in motivational patterns across sports can help inform strategies for fostering supportive motivational climates within athletic programs.
Therefore, this study aims to examine the level of motivation among varsity athletes across different sport categories using the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS). By analyzing the motivation ratings of the entire population of varsity athletes during the academic year 2024–2025, the study seeks to determine whether variations in motivation exist across sport categories and to estimate the extent to which sport category contributes to differences in motivational levels among collegiate athletes.
Research Questions
1. What is the level of motivation of varsity players in each sport category as measured by the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS)?
Null Hypothesis (H₀):
The median PALMS motivation score for each sport category is equal.
Alternative Hypothesis (H₁):
At least one sport category has a median PALMS score different from the others:
2. To what extent does sport category explain the variability in PALMS motivation ratings among varsity players (i.e.,effect size)?
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed to examine differences in motivation among varsity players across various sports categories. Because the study involved the entire accessible population of varsity athletes for the specified academic year, the analysis emphasized descriptive statistics and effect-size interpretation, while inferential tests were used primarily to examine differences among sport categories in the target population.
Respondents and Sampling
The study utilized a census of 88 college level varsity athletes from a university, representing all officially recognized varsity athletes enrolled in the 1st semester of SY 2024-2025. All are active players in six sports categories: Hip hop Dance (n = 23), Badminton (n = 16), Basketball (n = 16), Combat Sports (n = 13), Swimming (n = 11), and Volleyball (n = 9). All participants were included in the analysis, ensuring that the findings reflect the entire population of varsity players during the 1st semester of SY 2024-2025. This approach was deemed appropriate given the manageable size of the varsity population and the study’s objective to comprehensively examine physical activity and leisure motivation across different sports categories.
Instrument
Motivation levels of the varsity players were measured using the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS), developed by Morris and Rogers (2004). The PALMS is a 50-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess eight dimensions of motivation for physical activity: mastery, enjoyment, psychological condition, physical condition, appearance, other’s expectations, affiliation, and competition. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 represents strongly agree.
The PALMS has demonstrated strong psychometric properties, with reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from .78 to .82 across its subscales, indicating acceptable to good internal consistency (Morris & Rogers, 2004). Previous studies have also supported its construct validity in diverse physical activity contexts. In this study, the PALMS total score was computed as the mean of all item ratings, with higher scores indicating greater motivation for physical activity and leisure participation.
Data Collection
Prior to data collection, permission to conduct the study was obtained from the sports director of the university. The researchers coordinated with the respective team coaches and sports coordinators to administer the survey questionnaire to the varsity athletes. Participants were informed about the purpose of the study and were assured that their responses would remain confidential and would be used solely for research purposes. Participation in the study was voluntary. The questionnaires were distributed to the respondents during scheduled team meetings and training sessions, and the accomplished questionnaires were collected immediately after completion.
Statistical Treatment of Data
Initial screening of the data revealed violations of the normality assumption required for parametric testing. Consequently, the Kruskal–Wallis H test, a nonparametric alternative to one-way ANOVA, was employed to examine whether statistically significant differences existed in the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) ratings among varsity athletes across the six sport categories. The Kruskal–Wallis test compares the median ranks of three or more independent groups and is appropriate when the assumption of normal distribution is violated. In addition to significance testing, effect size using epsilon-squared (ε²) was calculated to estimate the magnitude of the observed differences among sport categories.
The Kruskal–Wallis H test is robust to unequal sample sizes, as it compares median ranks without requiring equal group numbers. Thus, despite the uneven sample distribution of respondents per sports category, this approach remains suitable for detecting significant motivational differences across sports.
The use of inferential statistics was justified to determine whether observed differences in motivation across sports reflected systematic variation rather than random variability, and to support analytical generalization beyond the immediate population studied.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Descriptive Statistics of PALMS Scores
The analysis compared mean PALMS ratings across six sports categories: Badminton, Basketball, Hip-hop dance, Swimming, Volleyball, and Combat Sports. As shown in Table1 , athletes in the combat sports category reported the highest median motivation score (Mdn = 4.14, IQR = 0.35), followed by badminton (Mdn = 3.87, IQR = 0.61) and basketball (Mdn= 4.0, IQR = 0.94). Hip-hop dance athletes demonstrated a median motivation score of 3.74 (IQR = 0.78), while swimmers reported a median score of 3.62 (IQR = 0.60). The lowest median motivation score was observed among volleyball players (Mdn = 3.42, IQR = 0.67). The overall median motivation score across all varsity athletes was 3.79 (IQR = 0.77), indicating a generally high level of motivation toward participation in physical activity and sport.
The relatively low standard deviation observed among athletes in the Combat Sports category suggests that motivation levels within this group were relatively consistent compared with the other sport categories. In contrast, basketball exhibited a larger standard deviation, indicating greater variability in motivation levels among athletes within this group.
Overall, the descriptive statistics suggest that while motivation levels are generally high among varsity athletes, there are observable differences in average motivation across sport categories (Figure 1). Further research is necessary to identify the contextual factors that may influence motivation among athletes in different sports.
Assumption Testing
Prior to conducting comparative analyses, the data were screened to verify the assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance (Table 2). Normality was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test, which revealed that Badminton (p = 0.019), Basketball (p = .002) and Hip-hop Dance (p = .003) groups significantly deviated from a normal distribution, indicating non-normality in these categories. Homogeneity of variance was evaluated using Levene’s test (Table 3), which showed that variances were statistically equal across all sports categories (p = .129). Although the equality of variances assumption was satisfied, the violation of normality in some groups precluded the use of parametric tests. Therefore, the Kruskal–Wallis H test, a non parametric alternative to one-way ANOVA, was employed to compare PALMS motivation ratings across sports categories, while also allowing for the examination of the magnitude of differences through effect-size analysis.
Comparison of Motivation Ratings Across Sport Categories
A Kruskal–Wallis H test showed no statistically significant difference in Overall PALMS Rating among the five sports categories, χ² (5) = 10.801, p = .055 (Table 4). Despite the lack of statistical significance at .05 level, the magnitude of the difference was assessed using effect size or epsilon square (ε2) to provide a population-level interpretation. Epsilon squared is calculated as follows:
where H is the test statistic (10.801) and N is the total count (88). The resulted effect size ε2 = 0.12415, indicating a medium effect. This suggests that approximately 12.4% of the variability in athlete motivation is associated with the sport category. The remaining 87.6% of the variation in PALMS is explained by other factors. According to commonly used benchmarks for effect size interpretation (Cohen, 1988), this represents a moderate-to-substantial effect, suggesting that sport category plays a meaningful role in shaping athlete motivation.
The results of this study suggest that varsity athletes generally report high levels of motivation toward participation in sport and physical activity, regardless of sport category. However, observable differences in mean motivation scores indicate that certain sports may foster slightly higher motivational levels than others.
Athletes participating in Combat Sports reported the highest motivation levels. Combat sports often emphasize discipline, personal mastery, competitive drive, and continuous self-improvement, which may contribute to heightened intrinsic motivation among athletes engaged in these sports.
Conversely, swimmers reported the lowest mean motivation score among the groups. While the difference was not statistically significant, the finding may reflect potential variations in training environments, social interaction, or perceived enjoyment across sport types. Nevertheless, the relatively high overall motivation scores suggest that varsity athletes across all sport categories maintain strong engagement with their sport.
The moderate effect size observed in the analysis indicates that sport category accounts for a meaningful but limited portion of motivational variation. A large proportion of the variability in PALMS scores remains unexplained, suggesting that other factors — such as coaching style, team dynamics, training conditions, and individual psychological characteristics —may also play important roles in shaping athlete motivation.
The findings provide useful insights for coaches, athletic administrators, and sports program planners. Although sport category alone does not significantly determine motivation levels, the moderate effect size suggests that motivational experiences may vary across different types of sports.
Sports programs may benefit from implementing strategies that enhance motivational climates within teams, such as promoting mastery – oriented goals, fostering positive social environments, and supporting athletes’ psychological well-being. Such approaches may help sustain high levels of motivation among varsity athletes regardless of sport category.
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