Cultural Influence on Youth's Motivation of

Participation in Physical Activity

Jin H. Van

South China Normal University

California State University at Hayward

and

Penny IMcCuIlagh
California State University at Hayward

Cross-cultural comparison is one of the research paradigms for studying the influences of
environment on human behavior. Uiilizing a cross-cultural approach, the objective of this
study was to examine ihe differences in participatory motivation in physical activities among
Chinese (PRC). American born Chinese (ABC), and American children and adolescents
(USA). These individuals aged from 12 to 16 years (total 424: 202 females and 222 males).
A physical activity motivation questionnaire (Gill. Gross, & Huddleston, 198S) was the
instrument usedfor data collection. Chi-Square technique was used to analyze the percent-
age of motives in three categories. The results suggest that the USA male and female partici-
pants take part in sports or physical activities primarily for competition and improving
skills. However, for the PRC participants, social affiliation and wellness are the main
participation reasons for both males and females. The ABC participants are more likely to
participate because of travel, equipment use, and having fun through physical activities and
sports than their PRC and USA counterparts. Furthermore, the inter-cultural differences
(age- and gender-related) in sport motivation are greater than the intra-cultural differ-
ences. The results suggest that children and adolescents in different cultures may be subject
to the socio-cultural injluences. resulting in culture-associated differences in the motivation
to participate in physical activities or sports. Understanding the cultural injluence on
youth's participatory motives may facilitate organizing physical activities that offer chil-
dren or adolescents expected sport experiences and movement learning outcomes in a multi-
cultural society, .

Address Correspondence To: Jin H. Yan, Ph.D., the Department of Kinesiology/PE,

California State University, Hayward, CA 94542-3062.
378
 Cultural and Motivation... /379

Exploring the relative influences of nature and nurture on human motor development is
an important topic (Barrett & Bailey. 1988; Thomas & French, 1985). In terms of environmental
influences, Yan and Thomas (1995) identified several culture-related characteristics (American
and Chinese) in youth's physical activity patterns as well as cultural influences on gender
differences in physical activity. Specifically, American children were more favorable to com-
petitive sports while their Chinese counterparts were more likely to get involved in fitness
related physical activities. In addition, parental influences on children's selection of physical
activities were also recognized. Chinese parents expect their children to participate in health or
fitness-related activities whereas American parents support or encourage children's participa-
tion in team or individual sports. Thus, social-cultural factors seem to affect children's
patterns of physical activities.
However, questions remain relative to how and why children or adolescents in two
different cultures (Western and Oriental) choose different tj'pes of physical activities. To
facilitate the understanding of such questions and further promote an active lifestyle for
children in a multicultural society like the United States, developmentally assessing psycho-
logical factors such as participatory motivation in sports or physical activities important (Duda,
1987; Morgan, Griffm,&Heyward, 1996). However, few studies have examined cross-cultural
differences in psychological factors related to physical activity despite the plea for systematic
investigations provided over a decade ago by Duda and Allison (! 990).
Understanding youth motives to participate in sports or physical activities has been a
subject of interest for many researchers and practitioners (e.g.. Alderman & Wood. 1976;
Ewing,Seefeldt.& Brown, 1996; Gil! etal., 1983; Gould, FeltA& Weiss, 1985; National Federa-
tion of State High School Association, 1997; Roberts, 1993). Numerous studies have examined
the question of whether there are differences in youth motives across sports, age, gender, and
culture and suggest that children or adolescents are subject to the environmental influences in
their motivation to participate in certain physical activities (e.g., Brustad, 1988; Duda, 1985;
Gould et al., 1985; White & Duda, 1994). Thus, investigating the diversities in motivation of
participation may shed light on the underlying reasons of why children or adolescents take
part in various forms of physical activity or sports.
Another issue frequently discussed in the area of youth sport participation is related to
gender-related differences in sports performance and participatory motives (e.g., Thomas &
French, 1985; White & Duda, 1994). U was thought that in early childhood, environmental
factors such as parental expectations had a higher influence on motor performance than bio-
logical factors or physical characteristics. During middle childhood or adolescence, both
environmental and biological factors seem to have a great effect on motor performance (see a
quantitative review by Thomas & French, 1985). Due to the fact that a growing number of
380 / Journal of Spori Behavior, Vol. 27. No. 4

female participants are involved in all levels of sports or physical activities (National Federa-
tion of State High School Association, 1997). an important question is why young females
either demonstrate or do not demonstrate gender stereotypes in terms of the selection and
modes of physical activities. Gender comparisons of motivation in sport participation within a
particular culture may not be as effective as a cross-cultural study in terms of distinguishing
the influences of environmental and biological influences on young females (Duda. 1985).
"Cross-cultural" comparison is one of the most common research paradigms for study-
ing environmental influences on human development (cognitive, social, and motor develop-
ment). For instance, Chiu (1972) examined the differences in cognitive styles between Chinese
and American children and found that Chinese children are more likely to engage in individual
problem solving while American children participate in team or group exploration. Cook and
Chi (1984). and Domino (1992) observed culture-related diversity in social interactions (e.g.,
cooperation or competition behaviors) between American and Chinese-American children. A
number of studies compared the levels of children's motor performance between sub-cultures
and across cultures (e.g., Dinucci & Shows, 1977; East &Hensley, 1985; Yan& Thomas. 1995).
These studies identify a number of contributing factors (e.g., cultural expectations, social-
economic background, parental/siblings influences, or peer's impacts) that may have pro-
found impact on the observed behavioral differences in cognitive, social, or motor domains of
human development.
We could identify limited research on participation motives of individuals from Eastern
societies compared to those in Western cultures. Hayashi and Weiss (1994) compared Ameri-
can and Japanese runners on reasons for participation. Both groups of runners agreed that
personal challenge, health and fitness, and achievement are important motives. However, only
the Japanese runners suggested positive experience and group membership as important and
only the American runners chose competition and recognition as important motives.
Wang and Wiese-Bjornstal (1996) compared the motivation of male and female athletes
in the People's Republic of China for children who participated in sport at normal schools
compared to children who were involved in sport at spare-time schools. Children in these latter
schools were selected based on sport talent as early as three year old and spend 15 to 20 hours
a week training in their sport in addition to attending regular academic sessions. Because the
opportunities for females are greater in the spare-time schools, the authors predicted that the
motives for males and females would differ between the types of schools. The findings re-
vealed that children in spare-time sport programs had higher rankings on competition, energy
release, family influence and achievement needs than children from normal schools who rated
team and social factors as most important. There were also differences between the boys and
girls. Boys rated Fitness, energy release, and friendship higher than girls, while girls rated team
 Cultural and Motivation... /38I

orientation as more important than boys. Contrary to predictions, there was no interaction
between gender and type of school program.
The current research serves as a follow-up for the previous study by Yan and Thomas
(1995) that demonstrated cultural differences in youth's physical activity. Using a cross-cul-
tural approach, this study was designed to examine the cultural influences on participatory
motivation in physical activities among People's Republic of China (PRC), American bom
Chinese (ABC), and American children (USA). It is expected that there will be a greater
difference in youth motives for sports between PRC and USA than the difference between
ABC and USA. This may be accounted for bythe social and cultural variations (between PRC
and USA) and similarities (between ABC and USA) for these three groups of participants. It is
also expected that gender discrepancies in motivation to participate in sports will be greater
between cultures than within cultures. In addition, age-related differences within a culture
may be smaller than the age differences between cultures. From a developmental view, this
study may further test the notion that socio-cultural environments affect human motor devel-
opment as well as influence gender differences in physical activity patterns. Practically, under-
standing cultural differences in children's motives for participation may result in a better
organization of physical activity opportunities that offers children expected sport experiences
and movement learning outcomes in a multi-cuitural society.

Method

Parlicipanis
Three groups of child volunteers from 12 to 16 years ofage (total 424; 202 females and
222 males) were invited to participate in this research. These participants were Chinese chil-
dren (73 females and 82 males, from the metropolitan areas of Guangzhou City, Mainland China,
PRC), American born Chinese children (66 females and 56 males, from the Chinese communi-
ties, churches, and Chinese language schools in metropolitan areas of major cities in the
Southwest United States, ABC), and American children (63 females and 84 males, from local
schools in the same metropolitan areas of USA)'. Participants in each group were further
divided into two age groups: 12to 13 years of age and 14 to 16 years ofage. A consent form
was signed by each participant or the parent prior to answering the questions in the question-
naire.

'PRC children/adolescents were ihe individuals who lived in Mainland China. ABC participants were
those whose lived in the US and both parents were Chinese (from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan)
and; Ctiildren/adolescents who had at least one Caucasian parent and lived in the US were USA participants.
382 / Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol. 27. No. 4

Materials
A physical activity motivation questionnaire (Iowa Sports School Questionnaire; Gill et
al., 1983) was used to collect data about youth's sports participatory motivation at participant's
school or church. A reliability of .85 was determined by using the technique of split-halves.
Based on the nature of the question, the 30 questions of the "physical activity motivation
questionnaire" (Gill et al., 1983) were categorized into three general areas: (I) motivations
related to skill improvement/competition; (2) motivations related to social activities/fitness
enhancement; and (3) other types of motivation (see Table I).

Design and Procedure

The PRC children were surveyed in the city of Guangzhou, Mainland China, and the data
were processed in the United States. Questionnaires were administrated to ABC and USA
children in the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, AZ, United States. Every participant
completed each of a total of 30 questions of the questionnaire. Bach participant was requested
to indicate his/her response on a three-point scale that consisted of a high point of "very
important", an intermediate point of''somewhat important", and a tow point of "not at all
important" for each ofthe questions. For example, in a question like "I want to improve my
skills", a child indicated his or her response in the box of "very important", "somewhat impor-
tant", or "not at all important" according to his/her actual motives.
Demographic information about the self-reported race or ethnic background, gender,
age, grade in school, and language proficiency (Chinese) was also gathered. Due to the fact
that a majority ofthe ABC children were not proficient in Chinese language, the ABC and USA
children were given the English version ofthe questionnaire. The PRC children were given the
Chinese version ofthe questionnaire. Both versions ofthe questionnaire asked precisely the
same questions regarding the motivations of participating in physical activities or sports.
To ensure the equivalence of both versions ofthe questionnaire, a "back-translation"
was implemented: (I) comparing the Chinese version with the Chinese version back translated
by a Chinese-speaking scholar (to determine the similarities between these two version); and
(2) comparing the English version (original) with the English version translated by a Chinese-
speaking scholar(to determine the similarities between the original version and the translated
version). Pilot work with 48 children (28 PRC children and 20 USA children) was also con-
ducted with both versions to assure the correct interpretation ofthe 30 questions. The test-
retest correlations for the English and Chinese version ofthe questionnaire are .93 and .89,
respectively, suggesting both versions had an acceptable reliability.
 Cultural and Motivation... /383

Each participant's responses (based on a three-level scale-"very important", "somewhat

important", and "not at all important") for the 30 questions indicated his/her pritiiary and
secondary reasons for the participation in sports/physical activities. The selection of the
category "not at all important" for a particular motivation suggests that the individual might
not be motivated by that particular reason. First, each individual's respofises were categorized
into the three general areas. Second, within each group of participants, a total nutnber of
response in a given category of motives and its percentage relative to an overall number of
response were calculated. Finally, Chi-Square analyses were performed to identify the group-
. gender-, and age-related differences in each of the three general motivational areas. The
percentage of each type of pritnary motivation was examined by Chi-Square analyses and
reported for the three groups of participants (PRC, ABC, and USA children) atid for each
gender (male and female).

Results

Of particular interest of this study are the differences in participatory motives in sports
or physical activities across the three groups of participants and gender-related differences
within and between the groups. The results from this study (Figures I and 2) indicate that the
USA participants, regardless of their gender, appear to take part in sports or physical activities
primarily due to the reasons of sport competition and improving skills, X2 (421) = 4.88,/)<.O5.
On the other hand, the PRC participants tend to favor socializing and getting fit as motives
more than their USA and ABC counterparts for both males and females, X2 (421) = 6.28, p<.(i I.
In addition, the ABC participants seem to enjoy physical activities and sports for relatively
morebroadandbalancedreasons than the PRC and USA participants,-V2 (421)= 3.55,;?<.O5.
Furthermore, the inter-cultural gender differences in sport motivation were greater than
the intra-cultural gender differences in sport motivation. A" 2 (201) ^ 4.85, p<.05. Finally, the
inter-culturat age differences in sport motivation were greater than the intra-cultural age differ-
ences in sport motivation, A'2 (201) =3.98,/7< .05. No age-associated differences were noted in
participatory motives for the three groups. Even though the data collected are limited to sotne
extent (e.g., sample size or representations), the results suggest that children or adolescents in
different cultures may be subject to the environmental influences (e.g., socio-cultural back-
ground, parental expectations), as a result, demonstrating culture-associated discrepancies in
their motivations for participation in physical activities.
384 / Journal of Sport Behavior. Vol. 27. No. 4

Table I.
The Questions and Categories in the Questionnaire

t. Motivations related to skill improvement/competition

1. I want to improve my skills
2. I like to win
3. 1 liketheexcitement
4. I like the teamwork
5. I want to learn new skills
6. 1 like to do something Vm good at
7. I like the action .
8. I like to compete
9. I want to go on to a higher level
10. I want the challenge - '
11. I like the team spirit
II. Motivations related to social activities/fitness enhancement
1. I like to have fun
2. I want to be with my friends -, > -
3. I want to get rid of energy ^,-
4. ! want to stay in shape ' ,_ _
5. I want to release tension
6. I like to get exercise
7. 1 like to feel important
8. 1 like being on a team .,
9. 1 want to be physically fit
10. [ want to be popular
11. I want to gain status or recognition
12. I like to meet new friends
13. I like the coaches or instructors
i n . Other types of motivation l
1. I like to travel ' . '
2. My parents or close friends want me to play
3. I like the rewards
4. I like to have something to do
5. I like to get out of the house
6. I like to use the equipment or facilities
 Cultural and Motivation... /385

90- Males r n PRC

80-
• 1 ABC
70- 1 1 USA
% "
50-
40-

30-
•• • •
20-
10-
oJ-J ^• L^
Skill/Competition
1
1 ^ L+J
Social/Fjtness
i-ln
• •
Others
U
Reason s for Participation

Figure I. The effects of cultures (PRC, ABC, and USA) on the participatory motivation for
male sport participants.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine the cultural influences on youth's participa-
tory motivation in physical or sport activities. Age- and gender-related differences in sport
motivation were also examined within and between cultures. The data seem to support the
research assumption that environmental factors such as socio-cultural differences generally
result in various types of motivation for involvement (e.g., skill improvement or competition;
social interaction or fitness enhancement; or traveling, having fun, and using equipment). The
fact that American and Chinese cultures differ considerably in many aspects of socio-cultural
or natural environment (e.g., history, life style, value system, living surrounding, and/or cli-
mate) may influence youth's moral, social, cognitive, and motor development (Chiu, 1972;
386/ Journal of Sport Behavior. Vol. 27. No. 4

Soaal/Frlness Ohsrs

Reasons for Participation

Figure 2. Cross-cultural differences in participatory motivation for the PRC, ABC, and USA
female sport participants.

Cook&Chi, l984;Domino, 1992, Yan & Thomas, 1995). Within the methodological limitations
of this study, several possible implications can be seen from the results of this research.
In the current study, three groups of individuals were recruited from different socio-
cultural environments or backgrounds (PRC and USA children/adolescents). In general, the
USA young males and females participate in sports or physical activities due to the motivation
of competition and improving skills. However, the PRC children were primarily motivated by
socialization and wellness. The underlying reasons for these differences can be complex, but
socio-cultural factors like parental expectations or encouragement of sport involvement may
be of critical importance to the observed differences in the motivation to participate in physical
activities or sports (Yan & Thomas, 1995).
 Cultural and Motivation... /387

First, for instance, the standard of living atid the overall level of sport performance or
involvement in Mainland China are relatively lower than in the United States. Second, in
China, the phenomenon of a single child family ("one-child polic/' by the Chinese govern-
ment) may result in a possibility of choosing a child's career in a more carel\il or thorough way.
In addition, for Chinese children, the short- or long-term financial compensations from an
extensive and competition-oriented involvement in sports are rather uncertain (except the
sport of men's soccer, one of the most commercialized sports in China, and a few others).
Finally, in Mainland China, there is an increasing demand of medicaj or life insurance for the
athletes in the event of sport injuries. Yet. for most of the young Chinese sport participants,
these securities are limited or not available. Relative to these situations, most of the USA
young participants may have more advantages than their PRC counteiparts.
Consequently, for PRC children and their parents, these constraints, difficulties, or so-
cial phenomenon could lead to an impression that competition may not be the priority for
physical activities or sports. Instead, physical wellness is the most important reason for
participation. Parents may not want to invest their financial resources or time for their children's
competition-related involvement. To a certain extent, the parental expectations may change,
shape, or dominate their children's selection of physical activities, as demonstrated in the
study by Yan and Thomas (1995). Parental influence on youth's motivation for participating in
physical activities or sports may, in general, explain why PRC children place a higher priority
on the category of "social interaction and fitness" over other categories of "competition or
improving skills" when the PRC children are compared with the USA children regardless of the
age and gender of the participants (Figure 1 and 2).
The ABC children (the second or third generation of the Chinese immigrants) have
Chinese ethnicity and exposure to both cultural backgrounds (family and society), which may
result in the demonstration of behavioral characteristics shared by the PRC and USA children.
In addition to their ethnic backgrounds, in a relatively small environment-family, the ABC may
follow some Chinese family traditions. Parental influences or expectations can be an important
contributor not only in their motivation for sports participation, but also for other decisions.
On the other hand, their daily activities in a bigger environment (society) such as in school,
neighborhood, churches, or other community activities, as well as the interactions with the
friends or peers, the ABC children certainly are under the influence of Western cultures and
realities. Alternatively, their value systems are close or similar to their American peers. As a
result, they demonstrated their own pattems of motivation and shared some characteristics of
the PRC and USA children.
388/Journal of Sport Behavior. Vol. 27. No. 4

The comparisons of motivation among the participants from different cultures may be
helpful in understanding youth's physical activity behaviors. For example, Yan and Thomas
(1995) reported that the USA children had higher percentages of involvement in "team sports"
than the PRC and ABC children. The PRC children were more likely to participate in "recre-
ational activities" or "fitness exercises" than the USA boys and girls. The ABC children
participated in "individual sports" more than the USA and PRC children. The motivation
patterns or discrepancies demonstrated in the present study, to a certain extent, explain differ-
ences in selecting physical activities among children from different cultural backgrounds.
This study suggests that cultural differences, rather than gender- or age-related differences,
may affect the motivation for sport participation. Environmental factors can also contribute to
the observed behavioral differences in children's motivation.
Overall, within the methodological restrictions of this research, the findings suggest
that among the three groups of participants, there were clear differences in youth's motivation
for physical activity or sports. The influence of socio-cultural environment contributes to the
differences in youth's physical activities. Examining ethnicity or biological influence on youth's
physical, psychological, and motor development is needed to frarther our understanding of
child development. From a practical stand point, using a cross-cultural approach may facilitate
our understanding of youth's participatory motives for sports or physical activities, which can
be helpful in organizing sports or physical activities for a diverse population.

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