DETERMINING PARTICIPATION MOTIVATION OF YOUNG ATHLETES WITH REGARD TO GENDER AND SPORT TYPE

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine motives of young athletes with regard to gender and sport type. Method: The sample of this study constituted 419 females (Mage=12.23±1.88) and 477 males (Mage=11.93±1.99) totally 896 athletes (Mage=12.07±1.94) participants from variety of physical activity and sport settings. “Participation Motivation Questionnaire” (Gill et al., 1983) was administered to participants. Participants were classified into two groups with respect to type of sports (individual/team sport). An independent t-test was used to determined differences in motivation orientations with regard to gender and sport type. Results: Results showed that there were no significant differences in participation motives of athletes with regard to gender (p>.05). T-test results also revealed that significant differences in team and friendship motives between participants with regard to sport type (p< 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, the participants who participate in team sports have higher scores in team and friendship subscales. In other words, they want to be part of a team and make friends with team sports.