The Relationship Between Motivational Regulations and Intention to Continue Sport in Injured Athletes

Abstract

Background: Injured athletes are prone to quit sports due to several factors, including changes in motivational regulations, and their intention to continue in sport comes with special challenges. Objectives: Based on the self-determination theory (SDT), we investigated the relationship between motivational regulations and intention to continue sport in athletes with a history of injury. Methods: One hundred twenty-one injured athletes (M age = 24.68, SD = 7.74) participated in this study and filled out a multi-section questionnaire. Results: Path analysis showed that injured athletes’ introjected regulation positively predicted their intention to continue in sport (path coefficient = 0.30). Conclusions: Findings showed that introjected regulation would consider as impornat criteria in persitising sport in athletes after experiencing injury.