Background

Mothers with young children in Australia have significantly low rates of participation in physical activity and sport. This is potentially due to the postpartum transition to motherhood, and the expectation of the maternal role. This study aimed to apply an extended model of self-determination theory to compare mothers who have and have not re-engaged in team sports since their child was born and investigate the psychosocial factors that may have influenced their re-engagement in team sports.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 191 mothers (M = 32.2) who were either currently playing or had previously played team sport. A hierarchical multiple regression was used to predict mother's motivation to re-engage using self-determination theory factors (autonomy, relatedness, competence), postpartum mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) and maternal identity. A hierarchical binary logistic regression was then conducted to predict the likelihood of re-engagement based on motivation, postpartum mental health, and maternal identity.

Results

Findings showed that autonomy, competence, anxiety, and maternal identity play key roles in predicting the motivation of mothers to engage in team sport. Additionally, greater motivation increased the likelihood of a mother re-engaging in team sport.

Conclusion

This study has important theoretical and practical implications in that it expands the knowledge of the unique population of ‘everyday’ mothers within a sport and physical activity context, as well as provides preliminary directions for applied research in motivating mothers to re-engage in team sports.

中文翻译：

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早期母亲重新参与团队运动的社会心理预测因素的横断面研究

背景

在澳大利亚，有小孩的母亲参与体育活动和运动的比例明显较低。这可能是由于产后向母亲的过渡以及对母亲角色的期望。本研究旨在应用自我决定理论的扩展模型来比较自孩子出生后重新参加团队运动和未重新参加团队运动的母亲，并调查可能影响她们重新参加团队运动的社会心理因素。

方法

采用横断面设计收集 191 名母亲 ( M  = 32.2) 的数据，她们要么正在参加团队运动，要么以前参加过团队运动。使用分层多元回归来预测母亲重新参与的动机，其中包括自我决定理论因素（自主性、相关性、能力）、产后心理健康（抑郁、焦虑和压力）和母亲身份。然后进行分层二元逻辑回归，根据动机、产后心理健康和母亲身份来预测重新参与的可能性。

结果

研究结果表明，自主性、能力、焦虑和母亲身份在预测母亲参与团队运动的动机方面发挥着关键作用。此外，更大的动力增加了母亲重新参与团队运动的可能性。

结论

这项研究具有重要的理论和实践意义，因为它扩展了“日常”母亲这一独特群体在运动和体育活动背景下的知识，并为激励母亲重新参与团队运动的应用研究提供了初步方向。