Motivación e inteligencia emocional en Educación Físicainfluencia sobre el bienestar psicológico y la intención de adoptar un estilo de vida activo

Abstract

Despite the benefits of moderate and regular physical activity among children and teenagers, many studies show that there is an increase in sedentary lifestyle in these stages of life, particularly in adolescence. In this regard, Physical Education classes can be an ideal context to encourage students to practice physical activity and sports in their leisure time, as well as contribute to their well-being. Motivation is a key construct for students to commit to the practice of physical activity, since it determines the start, maintenance, and completion of behaviors. In the context of Physical Education, the self-determination theory and the achievement goals theory have been the main theories from which the study of motivation has been approached. Self-determination theory claims that social factors (such as the motivational climate generated by the teacher) influence the motivation of students through three basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, and relatedness). The satisfaction of these psychological mediators is positively associated with the most self-determined types of motivation, and in accordance with positive consequences in students, such as greater psychological well-being and greater intention to be physically active. In recent years, the need for novelty (experiencing something for the first time) has gathered strength to established itself as the fourth basic psychological need. However, additional studies are needed to confirm it. On the other hand, the relationship between emotional intelligence and motivation in the field of Physical Education is gathering momentum. Although it may seem to be a positive association between the two, limited evidence is available. The main aim of this research, based on the self-determination theory, the achievement goal theory and Bar-On's mixed model of emotional intelligence, was to deepen the study of motivation and emotional intelligence in the context of Physical Education, relating both constructs with the intention of adopting an active lifestyle in the future and the psychological well-being of students. For that purpose, relations between the motivational climates transmitted by the teacher, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, the different types of motivation, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and the intention to be physically active were studied. This dissertation comprises six studies. In study 1, a systematic review of the scientific literature was carried out in order to find out the current state of the study of the relations between emotional intelligence and motivational factors. Subsequently, in studies 2, 3, 4 and 5, relations between all the variables studied in the doctoral thesis were analysed in a cross-sectional way. To this effect, a questionnaire was administered to a total sample of 1665 Physical Education students (aged between 10 and 18 years). Finally, in study 6, a meta-analysis was carried out to test the efficacy of interventions based on motivational strategies on the intention to be physically active in the future. In relation to the results obtained, the following stand out: the systematic review showed that motivation and emotional intelligence are positively related, although the role that one plays over the other is not clear. The results of the predictive models showed that the motivational climate generated by the teacher influences the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (including the need for novelty. In turn, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and the need for novelty positively predicted more self-determined forms of motivation and emotional intelligence, and consequently, these positively predicted indicators of psychological well-being and the intention to be physically active. In addition, the results of the meta-analysis showed that interventions that use motivational strategies based on the self-determination theory and the achievement goals theory are effective in improving the intention to be physically active in Physical Education students. All these results were discussed with the scientific literature related to self-determination theory, achievement goal theory and emotional intelligence. Finally, after discussion, a series of didactic strategies to satisfy the basic psychological needs, the need for novelty and develop the emotional intelligence were proposed from the context of Physical Education.