ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 12 January 2021 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.621065 University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles: Why They Practise and What They Get in Terms of Psychological Need Satisfaction Rafael Valenzuela, Nuria Codina* and José Vicente Pestana Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Physical activity (PA) is an important habit for overall health and quality of life, but it tends to recede as young adults transition from high school into university. The present study sought to understand, in the case of university students that still practice PA, their motives for PA and their relationships with psychological need satisfaction (PNS) Edited by: and characteristics of practice regularity (frequency, duration, team, competitive, coach, Antonio Hernández-Mendo, University of Málaga, Spain league, federation, and type of day of the week for PA). Participants were 423 university Reviewed by: students who reported to practice PA (203 identified as men, 191 as women, 29 did not Ángel De-Juanas, report gender), with ages ranging from 18 to 30 years old (M = 19.91, SD = 1.97). National University of Distance Measures assessing motives for PA, PNS, and PA characteristics were completed. Education (UNED), Spain Eva Sanz Arazuri, Hierarchical, followed by iterative, cluster analysis was used and four naturally occurring University of La Rioja, Spain groupings of university students were identified based on their motives for PA: one *Correspondence: extrinsic-motives cluster (with both extrinsic motives—fitness and appearance—above Nuria Codina ncodina@ub.edu the mean), one all-motives cluster (with all five motives above the mean), one intrinsic- motives cluster (with all three intrinsic motives—enjoyment, competence, social—above Specialty section: the mean), and one low-motives cluster (with all motives below the mean). Groupings This article was submitted to Quantitative Psychology were compared in terms of the characteristics of their practice regularity (frequency, and Measurement, duration, competition, team, coach, league, federation, type of day of the week used for a section of the journal PA) and their levels of PNS (of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness Frontiers in Psychology in PA). Significant between-group differences were observed in the duration of single Received: 24 October 2020 Accepted: 30 November 2020 principal PA sessions, minutes per week practicing main PA, total PA minutes per week, Published: 12 January 2021 and type of day of the week used for PA. The number of days per week devoted to the Citation: principal PA and the number of total PAs practiced were similar across all four clusters. Valenzuela R, Codina N and Pestana JV (2021) University With regard to between-group differences in psychological need satisfaction in PA by Students’ cluster, these analyses showed the existence of four clearly distinguishable naturally Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles: occurring groupings based on motives for PA, which gives researchers and practitioners Why They Practise and What They Get in Terms of Psychological Need the possibility to analyze and implement tailored interventions aimed at promoting PA Satisfaction. among university students. Front. Psychol. 11:621065. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.621065 Keywords: physical activity, psychological need satisfaction, motives, cluster analysis, self-determination theory Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles INTRODUCTION expectations or plans. Thus, needs, cognitions, and emotions share a common ground as three specific types of internal Physical activity (PA) is important in preventing severe health motives, which answer the question why do I want (to do) that. risks (Krishnan et al., 2009; Heath et al., 2012; Piercy et al., Following the previous reasoning, according to the self- 2018) as well as in yielding positive health benefits derived determination theory (SDT), motives can serve the satisfaction from its practice (Kim et al., 2016; Pacesova et al., 2019). of basic psychological needs, such as autonomy (feeling as the However, regularity of practice has proven to be a critical cause of one’s actions), competence (perceiving oneself as capable aspect, closely linked with both aforementioned types of favorable of accomplishing specific goals), and relatedness (perceiving consequences of PA. Specifically, the World Health Organization oneself as not emotionally isolated from others), which are (WHO) and the European Commission recommend that adults key nutriments for the development of quality motivation practice moderate PA a minimum of 150 min per week, and personal growth (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Ryan and Deci, vigorous PA 75 min/week, or a combination of the two 2017). But, additionally, motives can also serve cognitions and (World Health Organization, 2010; Powell et al., 2011). Yet, emotions included in personal goals. Goals have been defined these standards are far from being met among the general as cognitive representations of desired endpoints that have population, as more than two-thirds of Europeans practice effects on the individuals’ evaluations, emotions, and behaviors; little or no PA (European Commission, 2018), and in the compete against each other; fluctuate in accessibility; and have case of the Spanish population, 34.4% do not engage in a complex nature, as they are built on multiple integrated any PA, 38.9% practice insufficient PA, and the remaining memories (Fishbach and Ferguson, 2007). Goals have structure 26.7% practice enough PA, but mostly of moderate intensity and contents, vary in abstractness, and represent memory-based (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 2016). desired end states, which the individual is likely to pursue with As a matter of fact, it has been reported that PA tends to increasing drive, until it is reached or the costs of pursuit recede in young adulthood and in the transition into university become excessive (Fishbach & Ferguson, ibidem). As regards studies (Maselli et al., 2018). At the same time, a worrisome their value, goals can have both intrinsic and extrinsic goal decline in health-favorable activities such as physical education contents (Sebire et al., 2008); thus, it has been argued that all goals (Marshall and Hardman, 2000) and outdoor play time in are not created equal (Ryan et al., 1996) and that distinctions are children (Clements, 2004) strongly contrasts with increments required between different types of goals and their contents, as in online entertainment (Chahal et al., 2013). In this regard, these distinctions are relevant for understanding the nature of it has been argued that PA requires promotion in schools, derived motives. through facilitation of intrinsic motivation (i.e., sports that are Motives for physical activity have been theorized (Frederick liked by students), teacher support, development of students’ and Ryan, 1993) considering the differentiation between intrinsic perceived competence, and enhancement of PA values, through motives—obtained or accomplished in the course of practice the provision of information about health benefits (Ntoumanis, (Deci, 1975)—and extrinsic motives—obtained as practice- 2005; Codina et al., 2016). derived results (Deci and Ryan, 2000), and also distinguishing On the one hand, reasons for concern are that higher between intrinsic and extrinsic goal contents in exercise, education itself has been linked with lesser PA and that higher respectively, reflecting an intrinsic or extrinsic value of the education institutions, in the European and Spanish contexts, desired endpoint (e.g., losing weight, respectively, for health or scarcely promote its practice among their students (Moreno- appearance purposes: Sebire et al., 2008). Arrebola et al., 2018; Mella-Norambuena et al., 2019). On the Derived from these theoretical underpinnings, an early three- other hand, being hopeful is possible, given that higher education factor measure of motivation for physical activity within SDT is also a time in which healthy habits and lifestyles can be (Motivation for Physical Activities Measure—MPAM; Frederick built up (Maselli et al., 2018). For these reasons, it is important and Ryan, 1993) included enjoyment/interest, skill development, to understand both what personal variables drive university and body-related motives. The enjoyment/interest motive clearly students to practice PA (Gunnell et al., 2014; Ingledew et al., 2014; represents an intrinsic motive, as it is satisfied within practice Lindwall et al., 2016; Caro-Freile and Rebolledo-Cobos, 2017) itself, thus, serving intrinsic motivation (which is very much a and what contextual variables are associated with this practice, synonym of enjoyment and interest). Furthermore, this motive for instance, support from others (e.g., team or family members), also serves the satisfaction of both basic psychological needs for or the organization and time frame linked to the activity (Codina autonomy and competence (Ryan and Deci, 2000), given that and Pestana, 2012; Codina et al., 2020). people who practice intrinsically motivating activities value both experiencing enjoyment and interest, but also feeling competent in practice (Deci, 1975). The skill development motive also Motives for Physical Activity and Their represents an intrinsic motive, as it is also satisfied within Relationships With Goals and practice itself, when the individuals’ performance holds up to the Psychological Needs expectations and the level of the challenges faced. Additionally, Motives have been defined as internal processes that give energy this motive serves the basic psychological need for competence, and direction to behavior and may originate in real needs, but by supporting growth and development. Lastly, the body-related also in cognitions or emotions, which may be aligned with these motive was theorized as extrinsic, given that, based on this needs or not (Reeve, 2009), such as those present in personal motive, engagement in practice is instrumental in achieving Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles a goal that is an indirect result derived from the activity, PNS, for instance, in school physical education, is supposed and because the notion of body-related was mostly associated to originate quality motivation, which in turn enhances several with appearance. positive outcomes like affect and intentions to participate Building on these early theoretical and measurement (Ntoumanis, 2005). Furthermore, competence need satisfaction approaches, further developments (Motives for Physical Activity and relatedness need satisfaction have been shown to interact, Measure – Revised—MPAM-R: Ryan et al., 1997) included respectively, with achievement and affiliation motives in enjoyment and competence motives and additionally a social predicting outcomes like flow in sport (Schüler and Brandstätter, motive, in this way acknowledging that PA could be prompted 2013), suggesting that specific motive profiles may benefit by the pursuit of satisfaction of the basic psychological need for most from satisfaction of psychological needs that best relatedness or social connectedness. Furthermore, this revised produce favorable outcomes at a well-being level through approach took into account that the goal contents of a so-called their interactions with already preferred motives. body-related motive could have both an intrinsic (building Interestingly, previous (longitudinal) research on PNS in health) and an extrinsic value (looking good to others). Thus, exercise has found that—somewhat contrastingly with SDT the MPAM-R “split” the body-related motive into two factors: assumptions—adherence to exercise program was associated respectively, fitness/health and appearance motives. with reduced perceptions of autonomy and, furthermore, that Consequently, research using this measure can distinguish relatedness was not associated with autonomy nor autonomous between intrinsic and extrinsic motives and between motives regulation (Wilson et al., 2003). This suggests exploring the role with intrinsic and extrinsic goal contents. Both the enjoyment of relatedness as a potential promoter of motive internalization, and competence motives can be considered intrinsic and are leading to less autonomous regulation. Also, autonomy need clearly related with intrinsic motivation and with psychological satisfaction, in particular, has been linked with the development need satisfaction (PNS) of the needs for autonomy (e.g., of behavioral regulation based on self-concordant cognitions and choosing freely how to participate in enjoyable dance lessons) emotions (i.e., identified regulation; Ryan and Deci, 2000), which and competence (e.g., accomplishing an intended time mark in turn is consistent with persistence in exercise and well-being while running a marathon, or a precise movement while (Wilson et al., ibidem). This, in turn, suggests analyzing the dancing). The social motive can also be considered intrinsic ways in which the endorsement of distinct motivation bases for and related with the satisfaction of the basic psychological need exercise may be associated with distinct adherence behaviors and for relatedness (e.g., feeling a sense of emotional connectedness aspects of psychological well-being (which has been underlined, with teammates while playing volleyball, basketball, soccer, among others, by Gómez-Mazorra et al., 2020). or rugby). Lastly, the MPAM-R can also distinguish between Lastly, approaches based on SDT, especially on psychological two extrinsic motives, such as fitness/health and appearance, need satisfaction, have shown favorable effects in the which coincide in pursuing PA for its indirect results, but implementation of interventions aimed at increasing PA practice diverge in the value (respectively, intrinsic vs. extrinsic) of the among the youth (Kim et al., 2015; Muftuler and Ince, 2015; goal contents, pursuing, respectively, health-related outcomes Chacón-Cuberos et al., 2019; Corella et al., 2019). In general, versus outcomes linked to social recognition, both based on these findings suggest the importance of in-depth analysis of the cognitions or emotions. whys of PA as indispensable elements for future intervention Research with the Spanish version of the MPAM-R found programs aimed at increasing PA among university students. that women scored higher than men both in enjoyment and in appearance motives; young people aged between 16 and 24 years The Present Study old scored higher in the appearance motive than older age groups, The conceptual and practical overview presented above shows and older participants, in turn, scored higher in the fitness motive that internal motives are reasons people have for doing things, relative to younger groups; furthermore, people practicing more which may be based on needs, cognitions, or emotions (Reeve, than 3 days per week scored in average higher in all five motives 2009). In the case of motives for PA, it is important to understand than people practicing less; people practicing with coach or if these could predict behaviors of PA practitioners and the direction reported higher enjoyment, competence, and fitness outcomes or benefits derived from the activity. motives than those practicing on their own; and lastly, people In this regard, it has been noted that it is most relevant to practicing with friends reported a higher social motive than those address the question if behavior is intrinsically motivated (Deci, practicing alone (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2007). 1975): this is a self-satisfying end in itself; or, alternatively, if Furthermore, research with the MPAM-R in active women behavior is extrinsically motivated, this is an indirect means to has shown that motives are associated with psychological need an end or result derived from the activity; or if behavior is the satisfaction, except for the appearance motive (Wilson et al., result of a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. 2002). Moreover, all five motives have been positively associated Furthermore, in line with the goal contents theory (GCT, a mini with participation in PA, but the three intrinsic motives theory within SDT: Vansteenkiste et al., 2010), it is also relevant (enjoyment, competence, and social) have shown the most robust to address the question if the contents of each goal have intrinsic associations with autonomous forms of motivation, whereas or extrinsic value (Sebire et al., 2008). appearance and fitness motives have shown to be associated with Antecedents of cluster analysis using the Spanish MPAM- extrinsic autonomous but also extrinsic controlled (introjected) R (Nuviala Nuviala et al., 2013) have reported the emergence types of motivation (Battistelli et al., 2016). of three groupings: a first one with above-average scores in Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 3 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles all motives; a second one with average fitness and appearance (Ryan et al., 1997). Cronbach’s alphas for the original English motives and below-average intrinsic motives; and a third one (and Spanish) language versions were as follows: αenjoyment = 0.92 with above-average enjoyment and social motives, an average (0.84), αcompetence = 0.91 (0.85), αsocial = 0.83 (0.81), αfitness = 0.78 competence motive, and below-average extrinsic motives. (0.80), and αappearance = 0.88 (0.87), whereas in the present study, By and large, SDT argues that PNS promotes quality alphas were, respectively, 0.91, 0.86, 0.87, 0.82, and 0.89. motivation (including intrinsic motives) and, contrarily, low Psychological need satisfaction was assessed with the Spanish levels of PNS or unfulfilled intrinsic motives may foster extrinsic version (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2011) of the Psychological Need motives, which then may act as compensations for low PNS Satisfaction in Exercise Scale (Wilson et al., 2006). Cronbach’s (Ryan and Deci, 2000). alphas for original English (and Spanish) language versions were Based on the aforementioned antecedents, the present study as follows: αcompetence = 0.91 (0.80), αautonomy = 0.91 (0.69), and focused on three objectives: αrelatedness = 0.90 (0.73), whereas in the present study, alphas were, respectively, 0.89, 0.86, and 0.85. • Identifying distinct natural groupings based on motives for Regularity of physical activity was measured with an ad hoc PA among university students (comparable with a previous self-report questionnaire assessing one main physical activity work with the MPAM-R). and overall weekly time investment in physical activities. The • Analyzing if potentially emerging clusters would diverge in survey comprised time investment in PA, including months per their characteristics of PA practice regularity. year, frequency, days per week, and minutes per session of the • Assessing if potentially emerging clusters would diverge in main activity practiced, as well as total number of activities their levels of psychological need satisfaction in PA. practiced, total minutes per week, and type of day of the week In a more general sense, these three objectives allow for practiced. Furthermore, structure and regularity characteristics the discussion of naturally occurring groupings with distinct of the main physical activity were assessed, such as whether profiles of motives for PA, based on different combinations of practice happened in a team, competitively, with a coach, or in intrinsic and extrinsic motives and goal contents. The study a league or federation. also allows for the discussion of associations between profiles of motives for PA and a) various characteristics of PA practice Procedure regularity and b) diverse levels of psychological need satisfaction Before collecting data, we contacted the academic office of in PA. In this regard, the present study contributes knowledge the faculties whose students would take part in the sample. about motivational dynamics in physical activity aimed at After obtaining the corresponding authorization for the research, improving the understanding, promotion, and management of regular course teachers allowed researchers to address their PA participation. students in the final minutes of the class, inviting them to participate in a survey about university students’ uses of time, habits, and experience. The students were allowed to continue participating only if they agreed to sign the informed MATERIALS AND METHODS consent, participating voluntarily, and anonymously accessing questionnaires on Qualtrics platform via web links or QR codes. Design The ethical requirements of the University of Barcelona In order to evaluate the research objectives, a cross-sectional non- Bioethics Commission (CBUB, Institutional Review Board experimental predictive design was carried out according to the IRB00003099) were applied to the current study, which taxonomy proposed by Ato et al. (2013). meant that additional approval for the research was not required because the data obtained did not involve animal Participants or clinical experimentation. Additionally, this study complies A convenience sample of 423 university students who reported with the recommendations of the General Council of Spanish practicing PA participated in the present study. Among the Psychological Associations (Consejo General de Colegios de participants, 203 identified themselves as men and 191 as women, Psicólogos), the Spanish Organic Law on Data Protection and 29 did not report gender. Their ages ranged from 18 to (Jefatura del Estado, 1999), and the Declaration of Helsinki 30 years old; M = 19.91, SD = 1.97. In order to study PA motive (World Medical Association, 2013). profiles in youth and young adults, 10 students over the age of 30 years old were excluded from the analyses. Participation Analysis in the study was voluntary (i.e., participants did not receive Means, standard deviations, skewness, kurtosis, and normality any payment or academic benefit, such as extra marks in study are described in Table 1, and bivariate correlations among subjects or course credit). study variables are presented in Table 2. To assess if distinct groupings of university students occurred based on their motives Measures for physical activity, we conducted hierarchical (Ward’s method) Data was collected using three instruments, accompanied by the cluster analysis to assess the number of groups, followed by required demographics. iterative cluster analysis to make groupings more precise. We Motives for physical activity were assessed with the Spanish used final group centers from the hierarchical method as initial version (Moreno-Murcia et al., 2007) of the MPAM-R centers for the iterative method, iterating until the change Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 4 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles TABLE 1 | Means, standard deviations, skewness, kurtosis, and normality for PA fitness, followed by competence; in turn, social and appearance motives, regularity characteristics of practice, and psychological need satisfaction. motives yielded the lowest average scores and the highest Min–max M SD Skewness Kurtosis p variability (Table 1). Scores for PNS were all robust-to-high, the Enjoyment motive 1–7 5.92 1.14 −1.48 2.33 <0.001 highest average (with the lowest variability) being competence Competence motive 1–7 5.61 1.18 −0.95 0.59 <0.001 need satisfaction (Table 1). Social motive 1–7 4.62 1.71 −0.61 −0.54 <0.001 Participants practiced between one and nine PAs (M = 1.52, Fitness motive 1–7 5.88 1.08 −1.26 1.87 <0.001 SD = 1.09). Regarding their main PA (hereinafter, PA1), a vast Appearance motive 1–7 4.73 1.54 −0.50 −0.52 <0.001 majority practiced it with a close-to-weekly frequency, in average, Months per year 1–12 9.72 2.85 −1.36 0.99 <0.001 9.67 months per year (SD = 2.9), 3.27 days per week (SD = 1.35), PA1 109 min per day (SD = 75), and 274 min per week (SD = 302); Frequency PA1 1–6 5.61 0.91 −2.57 6.69 <0.001 Days per week PA1 1–7 3.28 1.36 0.41 −0.11 <0.001 total time devoted to main and additional PAs added up to Minutes per day 15–750 109 76 3.32 17.18 <0.001 339 min per week (SD = 381) (Table 1). Most students practiced PA1 PA only on weekdays (40.9%), a minority practiced only on Minutes per week 0–3,000 276 304 3.33 20.15 <0.001 weekends (14.1%), approximately one in every three practiced PA1 both on weekdays and weekends (35.6%), and one in every 10 Number of PAs total 1–9 1.51 1.09 3.56 16.62 <0.001 students practiced PA without a specific set day to do it (9.5%). Minutes per week 0–3,000 338 382 2.93 13.15 <0.001 PA total To some extent, PA was practiced competitively (41%), as a team Competence need 1.50–6.00 4.87 0.83 −0.69 0.92 <0.001 (52%), with a coach (50%), in a league (28%), and as part of a satisfaction federation (28%). Autonomy need 1.33–6.00 4.60 1.03 −0.68 0.03 <0.001 As can be observed in Table 2, intrinsic motives (enjoyment, satisfaction competence, social) showed robust internal consistency; also, Relatedness need 1.00–6.00 4.12 1.19 −0.81 0.35 <0.001 satisfaction fitness and competence motives showed a positive bivariate correlation; and, lastly, both extrinsic motives, appearance and fitness, were also positively related. As regards PNS, competence between cluster centers was less than 2% of the minimum initial was positively related with both autonomy and relatedness, distance between centers. We assessed the stability of hierarchical but relatedness and autonomy were not associated. As regards and iterative solutions via Cohen’s Kappa. the 15 possible associations between the five motives and the three psychological needs, interestingly, all were positive and significant except for four: competence need satisfaction RESULTS was negatively related with the social motive, and relatedness need satisfaction was negatively associated with the appearance All study variables had non-normal distributions. The motives motive; and furthermore, relatedness need satisfaction was that received the highest average scores were enjoyment and not associated with the fitness motive, and autonomy need TABLE 2 | Intercorrelations between PA motives (1–5), characteristics of practice (6–11), and psychological need satisfaction (12–14). 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 Enjoyment motive 2 Competence motive 0.58** 3 Social motive 0.50** 0.35** 4 Fitness motive 0.21** 0.50** 0.05 5 Appearance motive −0.07 0.23** −0.09 0.58** 6 Months per year PA1 0.07 0.14** −0.04 0.19** 0.13** 7 Frequency PA1 0.12* 0.18** −0.04 0.26** 0.19** 0.50** 8 Days per week PA1 0.10 0.05 0.00 −0.07 −0.04 0.24** c 9 Minutes per day PA1 0.13** 0.02 0.25** −0.24** −0.28** −0.17** −0.30** 0.13* 10 Minutes per week 0.13** 0.13** 0.13** −0.03 −0.08 0.26** 0.40** 0.56** 0.49** PA1 11 Total number of PAs 0.09 0.12* 0.00 0.06 0.03 0.07 −0.04 0.11* 0.04 0.03 12 Total minutes per 0.14** 0.12* 0.11* −0.03 −0.06 0.22** 0.31** 0.53** 0.41** 0.85** 0.31** week 13 Competence NS 0.45** 0.49** 0.22** 0.16** 0.02 0.21** 0.17** 0.19** 0.09 0.19** 0.13** 0.20** 14 Autonomy NS 0.13** 0.19** −0.13** 0.22** 0.18** 0.08 −0.04 0.02 0.02 −0.08 0.11* −0.06 0.33** 15 Relatedness NS 0.31** 0.24** 0.65** −0.07 −0.17** 0.07 0.04 −0.01 0.24** 0.15** −0.01 0.11* 0.31** −0.06 PA1 = main physical activity in terms of regularity of practice; NS = need satisfaction; *p < 0.05 (two-tailed); **p < 0.01 (two-tailed); c = at least one of the variables is constant (days per week = 0, for less-than-weekly frequency PA1). Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 5 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles satisfaction was not correlated with the appearance motive. Based on stable distinct naturally occurring combinations of Contrarily, positive robust associations were found, respectively, the five motives for PA, the following four clusters emerged between autonomy need satisfaction and enjoyment and via hierarchical followed by iterative cluster analysis (Figure 1). competence motives and between relatedness need satisfaction Emerging clusters were as follows: one extrinsic-motives cluster and the social and enjoyment motives. (n = 103), with fitness and appearance motives above the mean; Table 2 also shows that frequency of practice (at least once a one all-motives cluster (n = 140), with all five motives above year, semester, trimester, month, fortnight, week) was positively the mean; one intrinsic-motives cluster (n = 119), with all three related with all motives except the social motive, the association intrinsic motives (enjoyment, competence, social) above the with the greatest coefficient being that with the fitness motive. mean; and one low-motives cluster (n = 61), with all motives Number of days per week was not related with motives, but below the mean. Gender and age did not significantly differ minutes per day was positively related with the enjoyment and between clusters. Post hoc tests (Dunnett’s t) to compare cluster social motives and negatively with extrinsic motives (fitness centers one-to-one revealed significant (p < 0.05) differences in and appearance). Also, minutes per week of main PA and total all pairs, except for intrinsic-motives and all-motives clusters, tied minutes per week (all activities) were positively, though weakly, for the highest rank in both enjoyment and social motives; and associated with all three intrinsic motives. Minutes per day extrinsic-motives and low-motives clusters, tied for the lowest was negatively associated with months per year and frequency; rank in enjoyment. in turn, frequency was positively and robustly associated with As reported in Table 4, practice regularity measures were months per year and minutes per week. significantly different between groups. As regards months per Lastly, Table 2 shows that autonomy need satisfaction year and frequency of PA, members of the extrinsic-motives was positively and significantly related with all regularity (9.85) and all-motives clusters (10.16) practiced—in average— characteristics including minutes per week but not minutes per 10 months per year and nearly once per week (respectively, day and that relatedness need satisfaction was positively 5.73 and 5.78, on a six-point Likert scale with 6 = “at related with minutes per day and per week devoted least weekly PA”). Members of the intrinsic-motives and low- specifically to the main PA. motives clusters practiced slightly above 9 months per year Fusion coefficients resulting from the hierarchical clustering (respectively, 9.33 and 9.26); out the latter two, intrinsic- (Ward’s method) suggested a four-cluster solution (Table 3), and motives cluster members averaged = 5.5 in PA frequency a subsequent iterative step, using final cluster centers from the (between weekly = 6 and biweekly = 5), whereas low- hierarchical step as initial centers for the iterative step, required motives cluster members scored only slightly above (=5.13) the only three iterations to reach the stopping criterion (changes in biweekly mark of 5. cluster centers < 2% of initial minimum distances). Nonetheless, Significant between-group differences were also reported in we tested three-, four-, and five-cluster solutions. The four-cluster duration of single main PA sessions. For extrinsic-motives cluster solution was preferred over the five-cluster solution, given its members, duration was the shortest (79 min), relative to other greater stability between hierarchical and iterative steps, as judged clusters, whereas for intrinsic-motives and low-motives cluster by its strong Cohen’s Kappa of 0.80 (vs. Cohen’s Kappa five- members, it was the longest (respectively, 133 and 134 min). All- cluster = 0.76). Also, the four-cluster solution was preferred over motives cluster members typically practiced 100 min per session. the three-cluster solution (Cohen’s Kappa = 0.84) given its greater Similarly, significant between-group differences were reported explanation of variance in clustering variables (enjoyment = 37 in minutes per week for main PA and total weekly PA time, vs. 28%; competence = 45 vs. 36%; social = 63 vs. 62%; fitness = 50 but not in the number of days per week devoted to the main vs. 43%; and appearance = 56 vs. 36%). The five motives PA (slightly above 3 days per week) nor number of total PAs contributed significantly to distinguishing the emerging clusters, practiced (between one and two physical activities) across all but the social motive, followed by the appearance motive, was the clusters (Table 4). most relevant variable for cluster distinction (see Table 4). Among members of the low-motives cluster, only 52.5% complied with the WHO’s recommendations of 150 min of PA per week; among extrinsic-motive, all-motives, and intrinsic- TABLE 3 | Fusion coefficients for PA motives. motives cluster members, percentages of compliance were, respectively, 63.1, 75.7, and 70.6%. Group number Fusion coefficient Furthermore, significant between-group differences were 1 3,850.38 observed in the percentages of members who practiced 2 2,830.03 competitively, as a team, with a coach, in a league, or as part of 3 2,244.61 a federation (Table 4). Members of the intrinsic-motives cluster 4 1,932.60 reported the highest percentages in all five aforementioned 5 1,728.63 aspects, whereas extrinsic-motives cluster members reported the 6 1,575.19 lowest. All-motives cluster members ranked the second highest 7 1,467.56 in the percentage of members practicing competitively, as a team, 8 1,360.46 and with a coach, and interestingly, low-motives cluster members 9 1,285.82 ranked the second highest in the percentage of practice in leagues 10 1,223.56 and federations (see Figure 2). Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 6 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles TABLE 4 | PA motives, characteristics of practice, and psychological need satisfaction by cluster. Extrinsic-motives (n = 103) All-motives (n = 140) Intrinsic-motives (n = 119) Low-motives (n = 61) F p M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) Enjoyment motive 5.13 (1.37) 6.42 (0.62) 6.42 (0.60) 5.13 (1.23) 61.73 <0.001 Competence motive 5.25 (1.21) 6.33 (0.67) 5.89 (0.79) 4.04 (0.99) 100.37 <0.001 Social motive 2. 44 (1.15) 5.57 (0.93) 5.69 (0.95) 4.00 (1.26) 238.07 <0.001 Fitness motive 6.19 (0.66) 6.56 (0.50) 5.70 (0.80) 4.13 (1.05) 168.62 <0.001 Appearance motive 5.46 (1.13) 5.92 (0.66) 3.63 (1.01) 2. 95 (1.26) 201.85 <0.001 Months per year PA1 9.9 (2.7) 10.1 (2.6) 9.2 (3.2) 9.2 (3.2) 2.508 0.058 Frequency PA1 5.7 (0.6) 5.8 (0.7) 5.5 (1.0) 5.1 (1.4) 8.547 <0.001 Days per week PA1 3.3 (1.4) 3.2 (1.3) 3.3 (1.5) 3.4 (1.4) 0.600 0.614 Minutes per day PA1 78 (40) 102 (54) 136 (83) 129 (125) 13.060 <0.001 Minutes per week PA1 212 (191) 280 (214) 320 (365) 275 (483) 3.320 0.020 Total number of PAs 1.4 (0.8) 1.6 (1.3) 1.5 (1.1) 1.5 (0.9) 0.797 0.496 Total minutes per week 256 (266) 357 (346) 379 (412) 360 (562) 2.646 0.049 PA1 competitive (%) 20 41 57 40 14.905 <0.001 PA1 with team (%) 19 56 79 42 35.132 <0.001 PA1 with coach (%) 28 52 69 48 14.448 <0.001 PA1 league (%) 7 25 45 38 19.994 <0.001 PA1 federation (%) 8 27 43 35 13.420 <0.001 WHO recommendation (%) 63 76 71 53 4.100 0.007 Competence NS 4.74 (0.75) 5.11 (0.77) 4.86 (0.83) 4.19 (1.07) 11.983 <0.001 Autonomy NS 4.84 (0.92) 4.83 (0.94) 4.28 (1.07) 4.24 (1.06) 12.796 <0.001 Relatedness NS 3.14 (1.28) 4.41 (0.97) 4.75 (0.70) 3.78 (1.05) 56.890 <0.001 PA = physical activity, PA1 = most regular specific physical activity practiced. NS = need satisfaction. The following characteristics (competitive, with team, with coach, league, and federation) were coded as 1 if participant opted in or 0 if they did not. Frequency was coded as follows: at least once weekly (=6), at least once every 2 weeks (=5), at least once monthly (=4), at least once every 3 months (=3), at least once every semester (=2), and at least once per year (=1). FIGURE 1 | Four profiles of motives for physical activity (Z values). As can be observed in Table 5, practically half of the members weekends and weekdays; smaller percentages practiced only of the extrinsic-motives and the all-motives clusters practiced on weekends or without a specific set day. Contrarily, among only on weekdays and one-fourth of them practiced both on members of the low-motives and intrinsic-motives clusters, close Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 7 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles FIGURE 2 | Percentages of characteristics of physical activity by motive profile. TABLE 5 | Type of day devoted to PA by motive profile. Type of day Total sample Extrinsic-motives All-motives Intrinsic-motives Low-motives χ2 p devoted to PA (N = 423) (n = 103) (n = 140) (n = 119) (n = 61) n % Only on weekdays 175 41.4 52.4 50.7 26.9 29.5 24.056 <0.001 Only on weekends 59 13.9 11.7 10.0 18.5 18.0 5.162 0.160 Both weekends 149 35.2 25.2 33.6 45.4 36.1 10.061 0.018 and weekdays No regular type of 40 9.5 10.7 5.7 9.2 16.4 5.904 0.116 day to one in every five practiced only on weekends and, respectively, differences in need satisfaction were significant, except for those around 10 and 15% practiced without a specific set day. in competence need satisfaction, between, respectively, extrinsic- Lastly, Figure 3 shows the levels of PNS in PA by cluster. motives and low-motives clusters and between intrinsic-motives Extrinsic-motives cluster members reported above-average and all-motives clusters; those in autonomy need satisfaction, autonomy need satisfaction, but below-average competence need respectively, between intrinsic-motives and low-motives cluster satisfaction and the lowest relative relatedness need satisfaction. members and between all-motives and extrinsic-motives cluster Conversely, intrinsic-motives cluster members reported the members; and those in relatedness need satisfaction between highest relative relatedness need satisfaction, average competence all-motives and low-motives cluster members. need satisfaction, and below-average autonomy need satisfaction. All-motives cluster members were the only participants to report above-average satisfaction of all three psychological needs in DISCUSSION PA, whereas low-motives cluster members reported the lowest levels of competence need satisfaction relative to all the three The present work has analyzed the motive base of university other clusters. Post hoc tests (Bonferroni for autonomy and students in PA and the relationships between motives, competence need satisfaction and Dunnett’s t for relatedness characteristics of practice regularity, and basic psychological need satisfaction in PA) revealed that one-to-one between-cluster need satisfaction, with the goal of contributing relevant evidence Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 8 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles FIGURE 3 | Psychological need satisfaction in PA by motive profile (Z values). useful for the understanding and promotion of university with scores around-and-above average, respectively, for all- students’ health habits in PA. As described in the following motives, for extrinsic-motives (fitness and appearance), and for sections, the present findings support the relationship between intrinsic-motives (enjoyment, competence, social). Nonetheless, PNS and motives (in this case for PA) (Ryan and Deci, 2000; the additional cluster that emerged in the present study (low- Milyavskaya and Koestner, 2011; Battistelli et al., 2016). To this motives) is theoretically reasonable, given that behavior can regard, we identify distinct motive profiles, which replicate those originate in internal motives (needs, cognitions, emotions) and found in previous studies (Nuviala Nuviala et al., 2013) and in external events; thus, it is theoretically plausible (Reeve, 2009) confirm that these diverse motive profiles indeed are associated that some participants may have practiced PA for cognitions or with different levels of PNS, thus, in a broad sense, providing emotions not considered in the MPAM-R, or even compelled evidence for SDT assumptions regarding the association between by external events and not by internal motives. These findings PNS and motivation (Sebire et al., 2008; Ryan and Deci, 2017). also dialogue with previous latent profile analysis showing that All in all, our study extends the evidence supporting the existence two out of the five motivational profiles identified in physical of distinct profiles of motives for physical activity, by identifying education scored above-average only in external regulation and describing four distinct naturally occurring groupings, (Wang et al., 2016). specifically, among university students. Furthermore, emerging Members of clusters with different motive base also reported clusters are compared regarding the regularity of their practice different PA time investment and characteristics. Firstly, in and their derived levels of psychological need satisfaction, in line with SDT, members of intrinsic-motives and extrinsic- order to help PA researchers and educators in understanding motives clusters reported, respectively, the highest and the and supporting their subjects’/students’/coaches’ complex motive lowest (379 vs. 256 min) average weekly PA practice, whereas base in simpler and tailored ways. members of all-motives and low-motives clusters scored similar in total weekly PA practice (357 vs. 360 min). From the Four Motive-Based Clusters to Furthermore, the proportions of students who reached the the Time Invested in PA WHO’s weekly PA practice time recommendation (150 min) The retained four-cluster solution was stable between hierarchical were also different when comparing between members of and iterative steps, it required few iterations to stabilize, different clusters: four out of five (all-motives), two out of and it explained considerable proportions of variance in three (extrinsic motives), three out of five (intrinsic-motives), clustering variables. Furthermore, three out of the four identified and only one out of two (low-motives). These findings extend clusters (e.g., all-motives, intrinsic-motives, extrinsic-motives) the evidence supporting the notion that types of motives for are practically identical to three clusters found in previous PA are related with regularity of time investment in PA. studies in the same country with the same version of the Regarding PA regularity characteristics, relative to the rest of MPAM-R (Nuviala Nuviala et al., 2013), which also emerged the participants, intrinsic-motives cluster members reported the Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 9 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles highest proportions of practicing PA competitively, in teams, which suggests that mainly intrinsically motived PA could with coach, in leagues, and in federations and the highest depend on PNS. Nonetheless, the present person-centered proportions of practice reported during only weekends and approach allows for nuanced observations and interpretations during both weekdays and weekends. This finding possibly regarding PNS in PA practice, depending on specific naturally attests to the fact that competitive team sports require thorough occurring combinations of motives. coordination for participants to find common available time slots for group practice. Psychological Need Satisfaction in Practicing PA What Is Obtained and Why When The cluster with the highest relative intrinsic motivation Practicing Physical Activity (intrinsic-motives) not necessarily always yields the highest, The fact that intrinsic-motive cluster members scored relatively broadest, or more balanced PNS in PA. In fact, seemingly, the higher in the enjoyment and social motives then in the competitive and team-based structure of PA among intrinsic- competence motive suggests that, as has been theorized, motives cluster members (mainly motived by enjoyment and perceived competence serves the purpose of promoting social relatedness) allows for a high level of relatedness need enjoyment and, thus, intrinsic motivation (Deci, 1975), satisfaction and a slightly above-average competence need rather than the other way round. In the case of strictly satisfaction, but limits the satisfaction of the need for autonomy intrinsically motived PA practice, enjoyment could be (to levels similar to those of the low-motives group). This thought of as an end, and competence could be seen as finding may in part reflect the operationalization of autonomy the means to it. Arguably, the competence motive could be implied in the used measure, in which participants reported how thought of as partly extrinsic (even though, of course, with an much decision they had about how to exercise in their reported intrinsic value), given that the natural outcome of expressing PA. In other words, participants of league-competitive team- competence (hence, the motivator) could be competence- based sports may logically have less possibility to decide about derived enjoyment. On the other hand, a true competence how to practice and could thus have reported lesser autonomy motive, where being competent itself was the motivator, need satisfaction than independent individual practitioners who would depend on a cognitive identification with the goal of could decide how to practice. It is not safe to assume that enhancing or expressing high competence. This nuance in the intrinsic-motives cluster members feel autonomy-thwarted just relationship between competence and enjoyment could provide for not being able to change the rules of the sport they practice. an interpretive context for the statistically significant difference Furthermore, the original scale already recommended caution in competence motive levels between intrinsic-motives and given that the autonomy subscale captured only a portion of the all-motives cluster members: the latter (regardless of being construct’s content (Wilson et al., 2006). more extrinsically motived and less competitive) carrying Extrinsic-motives cluster members reported high levels of more competence-striving cognitions, but not necessarily being autonomy need satisfaction, possibly given the fact that their more competent or enjoying more than intrinsic-motives practice was the least coached, competitive, and team-league- cluster members. or-federation-based of the four clusters. This does not make Furthermore, interestingly, both clusters including above- the extrinsic-motives cluster members necessarily the most average extrinsic motives (e.g., all-motives and extrinsic-motives autonomous practitioners of the four groups, but specifically clusters) reported the greatest proportions of regular physical reflects their control over their concrete practice behavior, the activity during weekdays. These findings suggest that the extrinsic trade-off being not practicing with others (which would enable value ascribed to PA may be critical for people to consider relatedness need satisfaction), nor having specific criteria for weekday practice as important as to separate specific time for it assessing and socially comparing performance (which would from competing typically extrinsic goals. Contrastingly, intrinsic- enable competence need satisfaction), two aspects that may be motives cluster members reported the smallest proportion of perceived as irrelevant by extrinsically motived PA practitioners. students participating only on weekdays, suggesting that PA The all-motives cluster had the most robust and balanced PNS characteristics integrated more with weekend leisure time than across the three needs. From this perspective, it is reasonable with regular weekday routine and habit. Future longitudinal that this cluster also has the greatest number of participants studies are needed to discern if the fact that PA recedes during reaching the WHO recommendations of weekly PA. The fact higher education is related with weekday-versus-weekend time that their PA practice satisfies their three psychological needs in use for PA (hints are that intrinsic-motives cluster members a balanced manner should be a strong base for their intrinsic would be at a greater risk of PA slipping out of their motives to remain in place, but, additionally, having cognitions healthy lifestyle during higher education relative to students and emotions regarding fitness and appearance (as non-need- with extrinsic motives—or with a combination of intrinsic and based motivators) may promote the allocation of weekday time extrinsic motives), given the high demand of studies on weekday for PA practice, rendering this group the one with the greatest time investment. regularity of practice at the same time with the highest autonomy Lastly, the four identified clusters also showed different levels need satisfaction. of PNS. It has been established that PNS is positively associated Conversely, low-motives cluster members reported both with autonomous motivation (Milyavskaya and Koestner, 2011), below-average need satisfaction in all three needs and Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 10 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles below-average levels in all five motives, which leads to two ETHICS STATEMENT possible interpretations: either these students practice PA due to external regulation based on external events or, alternatively, All subjects gave written informed consent prior to the collection they are amotivated by PA and find themselves in a transition of the research data. The ethical requirements of the University to another type of practice or to ceasing to practice all in of Barcelona Bioethics Commission (CBUB, Institutional Review all. The second interpretation finds some ground in observing Board IRB00003099) were applied to the current study, which that, regarding scores for practice in leagues and federations, meant that additional approval for the research was not low-motives cluster members’ PA practice is similar to the required because the data obtained did not involve animal intrinsic-motives cluster, which (given their low motives and or clinical experimentation. Additionally, this study complies need satisfaction) could be due to the external regulation for with the recommendations of the General Council of Spanish practice implied in practicing PA with coach, or in teams, Psychological Associations (Consejo General de Colegios de contests, leagues, or federations. Psicólogos), the Spanish Organic Law on Data Protection (Jefatura del Estado, 1999), and the Declaration of Helsinki Final Remarks (World Medical Association, 2013). The relevance and robustness of these findings do not mean that the study was conducted without limitations. Particularly, we used an intentional sampling method aimed at yielding AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS participants from diverse fields of study who practiced physical RV is the author who conceived and designed this manuscript. activity. To this respect, it is relevant to mention that the He was also responsible for drafting the whole work and specific characteristics of these profiles may set conditions for revising it critically for important intellectual content. NC the fulfilment of other activities, obligations, or other aspects of was mainly responsible for the research that gave the data day-to-day life, especially during weekdays (in which a majority gathered and for revising the manuscript critically for important of students practiced PA). In any case, the detailed description intellectual—theoretical and methodological—content. JP of profiles relative to motive combinations gives researchers was responsible for revising the manuscript critically for and practitioners the possibility to analyze and implement important intellectual—theoretical and methodological— tailored interventions aimed at promoting PA, considering its content. All authors contributed to the article and approved the short- and long-term effects on health. Concretely, programs submitted version. could be aimed at promoting higher intrinsic motivation levels through tailored activities. About such interventions, it has been argued that, on the one hand, the accumulated knowledge about motivation in PA requires more examples, systematicity, FUNDING and longitudinal approaches (Belogianni and Baldwin, 2019; This research was conjointly supported by the projects Huffman et al., 2020), and on the other hand, there have RTI2018-094405-B-100 (co-funded by the Ministry of Sciences, been reports of positive effects of the incorporation of new Innovation and Universities of Spain with the European technologies in increasing PA in the youth (Wibowo et al., 2020). Regional Development Fund), REDICE18-2260 (Institut de These evidences highlight that, looking into the future, a joint Ciències de l’Educació – ICE – University of Barcelona), venture between longitudinal research designs and more highly and PsicoSAO-Research Group in Social, Environmental, sensitive measurement devices, aligned with day-to-day lives of and Organizational Psychology (2017 SGR 564; Secretaria the youth, will be important for the understanding of young d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i people’s motives for physical activity. Coneixement, Generalitat de Catalunya). DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL The datasets analyzed for this study can be found in the Dipòsit The Supplementary Material for this article can be found Digital (digital archives) from the University of Barcelona (http: online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg. //diposit.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/171472). 2020.621065/full#supplementary-material REFERENCES BREQ and MPAM-R questionnaires. Psychol. Fr. 61, 333–348. doi: 10.1016/j. psfr.2014.10.003 Ato, M., López, J. J., and Benavente, A. (2013). Un sistema de clasificación de Belogianni, K., and Baldwin, C. (2019). Types of interventions targeting dietary, los diseños de investigación en psicología [A classification system for research physical activity, and weight-related outcomes among university students: a designs in psychology]. An. Psicol. 29, 1038–1059. doi: 10.6018/analesps.29.3. systematic review of systematic reviews. Adv. Nutr. 10, 848–863. doi: 10.1093/ 178511 advances/nmz027 Battistelli, A., Montani, F., Guicciardi, M., and Bertinato, L. (2016). Regulation of Caro-Freile, A. I., and Rebolledo-Cobos, R. C. (2017). Determinantes para la exercise behaviour and motives for physical activities: the Italian validation of práctica de actividad física de estudiantes universitarios: una revisión de Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 11 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles literatura [Determinants of physical activity in university students: a literary Kim, J., Lee, S., Chun, S., Han, A., and Heo, J. (2016). The effects of leisure-time review]. Duazary 14, 204–211. doi: 10.21676/2389783X.1969 physical activity for optimism, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and Chacón-Cuberos, R., Castro-Sánchez, M., Pérez-Turpin, J. A., Olmedo-Moreno, positive affect among older adults with loneliness. Ann. Leis. Res. 20, 1–10. E. M., and Zurita Ortega, F. (2019). Levels of physical activity are associated doi: 10.1080/11745398.2016.1238308 with the motivational climate and resilience in university students of physical Kim, M., Cardinal, B. J., and Yun, J. (2015). Enhancing student motivation in education from andalucía: an explanatory model. Front. Psychol. 10:1821. doi: college and university physical activity courses using instructional alignment 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01821 practices. JOPERD 86, 33–38. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2015.1085343 Chahal, H., Fung, C., Kuhle, S., and Veugelers, P. J. (2013). Availability and night- Krishnan, S., Rosenberg, L., and Palmer, J. R. (2009). Physical activity and television time use of electronic entertainment and communication devices are associated watching in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes: the black women’s health study. with short sleep duration and obesity among Canadian children. Pediatr. Obes. Am. J. Epidemiol. 169, 428–434. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwn344 8, 42–51. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-6310.2012.00085.x Lindwall, M., Weman-Josefsson, K., Sebire, S. J., and Standage, M. (2016). Viewing Clements, R. (2004). An investigation of the status of outdoor play. Contemp. Issues exercise goal content through a person-oriented lens: a self-determination Earl Child 5, 68–80. doi: 10.2304/ciec.2004.5.1.10 perspective. Psychol. Sport Exerc. 27, 85–92. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.06. Codina, N., Pestana, J., Castillo, I., and Balaguer, I. (2016). “Ellas a estudiar 011 y bailar, ellos a hacer deporte”: un estudio de las actividades extraescolares Marshall, J., and Hardman, K. (2000). The state and status of physical education in de los adolescentes mediante los presupuestos de tiempo [“Girls, study and schools in international context. Eur. Phys. Educ. Rev. 6, 203–229. doi: 10.1177/ dance; boys, play sports!”: a study of the extracurricular activities of adolescents 1356336X000063001 through time budgets]. Cuad. Psicol. Dep. 16, 233–242. Maselli, M., Ward, P. B., Gobbi, E., and Carraro, A. (2018). Promoting physical Codina, N., and Pestana, J. V. (2012). Estudio de la relación del entorno activity among university students: a systematic review of controlled trials. Am. psicosocial en la práctica deportiva de la mujer [Study of the relationship of the J. Health Promot. 32, 1602–1612. doi: 10.1177/0890117117753798 psychosocial environment in the sports practice of women]. Rev. Psicol. Dep. 21, Mella-Norambuena, J., Celis, C., Sáez-Delgado, F., Aeloiza, A., Echeverria, C., 243–251. Nazar, G., et al. (2019). Revisión sistemática de práctica de actividad física en Codina, N., Pestana, J. V., and Stebbins, R. A. (2020). Fitness training as a body- estudiantes universitarios [Systematic review of practice of physical activity in centered hobby: the serious leisure perspective for explaining exercise practice. university students]. Rev. Ib CC Act. Fís. Dep. 8, 37–58. doi: 10.24310/riccafd. Rev. Psicol. Dep. 29, 73–81. 2019.v8i2.6452 Corella, C., Zaragoza, J., Julián, J. A., Rodríguez-Ontiveros, V. H., Medrano, C. T., Milyavskaya, M., and Koestner, R. (2011). Psychological needs, motivation, and Plaza, I., et al. (2019). Improving physical activity levels and psychological well-being: A test of self-determination theory across multiple domains. Pers. variables on university students in the contemplation stage. Int. J. Environ. Res. Ind. Dif. 50, 387–391. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.10.029 Public Health 16:4368. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16224368 Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. (2016). Actividad física y prevalencia Deci, E. L. (1975). Intrinsic Motivation. New York, NY: Plenum Press. doi: 10.1007/ de patologías en la población española [Physical activity and prevalence 978-1-4613-4446-9 of pathologies in the Spanish population]. Madrid: Agencia Española de Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human Protección de la Salud en el Deporte. needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychol. Inquiry 11, 227–268. Moreno-Arrebola, R., Bernardo Fernández-Revelles, A., Linares-Manrique, M., doi: 10.1207/s15327965pli1104_01 and Espejo-Garcés, T. (2018). Revisión sistemática sobre hábitos de actividad European Commission (2018). Special Eurobarometer 472: Sport and física en estudiantes universitarios [Systematic review of habits of physical Physical Activity. Available online at: http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/ activity in university students]. Sportis IV, 162–183. doi: 10.17979/sportis.2018. publicopinion/index.cfm/survey/getsurveydetail/instruments/special/ 4.1.2062 surveyky/2164 (accessed October 12, 2020). Moreno-Murcia, J. A., Cervelló-Gimeno, E., and Martínez-Camacho, A. (2007). Fishbach, A., and Ferguson, M. F. (2007). “The goal construct in social psychology,” Validación de la escala de medida de los motivos para la actividad física- in Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles, eds A. W. Kruglanski revisada en españoles: diferencias por motivos de participación [Validation and T. E. Higgins (New York, NY: Guilford), 490–515. doi: 10.1007/BF023 of the motives for physical activity measure- revised in Spaniards: differences 33407 according to motives for participation]. An. Psicol. 23, 167–176. Frederick, C. M., and Ryan, R. M. (1993). Differences in motivation for sport and Moreno-Murcia, J. A., Marzo, J. C., Martínez-Galindo, C., and Conte, L. (2011). exercise and their relations with participation and mental health. J. Sport Behav. Validación de la Escala de “Satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas básicas” 16, 124–145. y del cuestionario de la “Regulación conductual en el deporte” al contexto Gómez-Mazorra, M., Sánchez-Oliva, D., and Labisa-Palmeira, A. (2020). Leisure- español. [Validation of the “Basic psychological need satisfaction” scale and time physical activity in Colombian university students. Retos 37, 181–189. the “Behavioral regulation in exercise” questionnaire to the Spanish context] doi: 10.47197/retos.v37i37.71495 RICYDE. Rev. Int. Cienc. Dep. 26, 355–369. Gunnell, K. E., Crocker, P. R. E., Mack, D. E., Wilson, P. M., and Zumbo, Muftuler, M., and Ince, M. L. (2015). Use of trans-contextual model-based B. D. (2014). Goal contents, motivation, psychological need satisfaction, physical activity course in developing leisure-time physical activity behavior well-being and physical activity: a test of self-determination theory over of university students. Percept. Mot. Skills 121, 31–55. doi: 10.2466/06.PMS. 6 months. Psychol. Sport Exerc. 15, 19–29. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2013. 121c13x1 08.005 Ntoumanis, N. (2005). A prospective study of participation in optional school Heath, G. W., Parra, D. C., Sarmiento, O. L., Andersen, L. B., Owen, N., Goenka, physical education using a self-determination theory framework. J. Educ. S., et al. (2012). Evidence-based intervention in physical activity: lessons from Psychol. 97, 444–453. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.97.3.444 around the world. Lancet 380, 272–281. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60816-2 Nuviala Nuviala, A., Gómez-López, M., Grao-Cruces, A., Granero-Gallegos, A., Huffman, M. K., Reed, J. B., Carpenter, T., and Amireault, S. (2020). Maintenance and Nuviala Nuviala, R. (2013). Motivational profiles of users of private and motives for physical activity among older adults: a protocol for a systematic public sport services. Univ. Psychol. 12, 421–431. doi: 10.11144/Javeriana. review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open 10:e032605. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019- UPSY12-2.pmsd 032605 Pacesova, P., Smela, P., and Kracek, S. (2019). Personal well-being as part of the Ingledew, D. K., Markland, D., and Strömmer, S. T. (2014). Elucidating the roles quality of life: is there a difference in the personal well-being of women and of motives and gains in exercise participation. Sport Exerc. Perform. Psychol 3, men with higher level of anxiety trait regarding their sport activity? Phys. Act. 116–131. doi: 10.1037/spy0000004 Rev. 7, 201–208. doi: 10.16926/par.2019.07.24 Jefatura del Estado. (1999). Ley Orgánica 15/1999, de 13 de diciembre, de Protección Piercy, K. L., Troiano, R. P., Ballard, R. M., Carlson, S. A., Fulton, J. E., Galuska, de Datos de Carácter Personal [Organic Law 15/1999, of December 13, on D. A., et al. (2018). The physical activity guidelines for Americans. JAMA 320, the Protection of Personal Data]. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 298(§23750), 2020–2028. 43.088-43.099. Available online at: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1999/12/14/ Powell, K. E., Paluch, A. E., and Blair, S. N. (2011). Physical activity for pdfs/A43088-43099.pdf (accessed Dec 14, 1999). health: what kind? How much? How intense? On top of what? Annu. Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 12 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065 Valenzuela et al. University Students’ Motives-for-Physical-Activity Profiles Rev. Public Health 32, 349–365. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210- Wibowo, R. A., Kelly, P., and Baker, G. (2020). The effect of smartphone application 101151 interventions on physical activity level among university/college students: Reeve, J. (2009). Understanding Motivation and Emotion, 5th Edn. Hoboken, NJ: a systematic review protocol. Phys. Ther. Rev. 25, 135–142. doi: 10.1080/ Wiley. 10833196.2020.1756125 Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation Wilson, P. M., Rodgers, W. M., Blanchard, C. M., and Gessell, J. (2003). The of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am. Psychol. 55, relationship between psychological needs, self-determined motivation, exercise 68–78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68 attitudes, and physical fitness. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 33, 2373–2392. doi: 10.1111/ Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-Determination Theory. Basic Psychological j.1559-1816.2003.tb01890.x Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Wilson, P. M., Rodgers, W. M., and Fraser, S. N. (2002). Cross-validation Publishing. of the revised motivation for physical activity measure in active women. Ryan, R. M., Frederick, C. M., Lepes, D., Rubio, N., and Sheldon, K. M. (1997). Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 73, 471–477. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2002.106 Intrinsic motivation and exercise adherence. Int. J. Sport Psychol. 28, 335–354. 09048 Ryan, R. M., Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T., and Deci, E. L. (1996). “All goals are Wilson, P. M., Rogers, W. T., Rodgers, W. M., and Wild, C. (2006). The not created equal: an organismic perspective on the nature of goals and their psychological need satisfaction in exercise scale. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 28, regulation,” in The psychology of Action: Linking Cognition and Motivation to 231–251. doi: 10.1123/jsep.28.3.231 Behavior, eds P. M. Gollwitzer and J. A. Bargh (New York, NY: The Guilford World Health Organization. (2010). Global Recommendations on Physical Activity Press), 7–26. for Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Schüler, J., and Brandstätter, V. (2013). How basic need satisfaction and World Medical Association. (2013). World medical association declaration dispositional motives interact in predicting flow experience in sport. J. Appl. of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving Soc. Psychol. 43, 687–705. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2013.01045.x human subjects. JAMA 310, 2191–2194. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013. Sebire, S. J., Standage, M., and Vansteenkiste, M. (2008). Development and 281053 validation of the goal content for exercise questionnaire. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 30, 353–377. doi: 10.1123/jsep.30.4.353 Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the Vansteenkiste, M., Niemiec, C. P., and Soenens, B. (2010). “The development absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a of the five mini-theories of self-determination theory: an historical overview, potential conflict of interest. emerging trends, and future directions,” in The Decade Ahead: Theoretical Perspectives on Motivation and Achievement, Vol. 16A, eds T. C. Urdan and S. A. Copyright © 2021 Valenzuela, Codina and Pestana. This is an open-access article Karabenick (Bingley, UK: Emerald), 105–166. doi: 10.1108/s0749-7423(2010) distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). 000016a007 The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the Wang, J. C. K., Morin, A. J. S., Ryan, R. M., and Liu, W. C. (2016). Students’ original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original motivational profiles in the physical education context. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No 38, 612–630. doi: 10.1123/jsep.2016-0153 use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 13 January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 621065