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Physical activity and self-determined motivation of adolescentswith and without autism spectrum disorders in inclusivephysical education

Chien-Yu Pan a,*, Chia-Liang Tsai b, Chia-Hua Chu a, Kai-Wen Hsieh b

a Department of Physical Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, No. 116, He-Ping First Road, Kaohsiung 802, Taiwanb Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan

1. Introduction

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impaired social interaction, deviantcommunication, and restricted and stereotyped patterns of behavior and interest (American Psychiatric Association[APA], 1994). Recent studies further suggest that individuals with ASD may exhibit atypical patterns of movement skillsdevelopment (Green et al., 2009; Ozonoff et al., 2008; Provost, Heimerl, & Lopez, 2007; Staples & Reid, 2010). They typicallydisplay low levels of engagement in their world (Keen, 2009) and often lack motivation to engage in physical activity (PA)(Todd, Reid, & Butler-Kisber, 2010). Therefore, studying the relation between PA and motivation measures in ASD isimportant because adolescents with such a condition are less likely than their typically developing classmates to benefitfrom school-based exercise and free-time physical activities.

Regular PA plays a critical role for improving and maintaining health and physical fitness (U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services [USDHHS], 2000). Identifying effective strategies for promoting regular PA has lead to reduced sedentary-related diseases among people with (Rimmer & Braddock, 2002) and without disabilities (Strong et al., 2005), thus, it isimportant for individuals to develop active lifestyle early in life. Current PA guidelines suggest that children should engage in60 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) each day (USDHHS and Department of Agriculture, 2005). However, studies have

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 5 (2011) 733–741

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 12 August 2010

Accepted 24 August 2010

Key words:

Autism spectrum disorders

Physical activity

Motivation

Adolescents

A B S T R A C T

The main purpose of this study was to compare the objectively measured physical activity

(PA) and the motivation process between adolescents with (n = 25) and without (n = 75)

autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in inclusive physical education (PE); and assess the

associations of the PA levels to a sequence of motivational processes. Independent t-tests

revealed significant PA and motivational process differences between adolescents with

and without ASD. External regulation was positively correlated with the percentage of

time that adolescents with ASD spent in moderate PA (r25 = 0.58, p< .01) and moderate-to-

vigorous PA (r25 = 0.50, p< .05), and this extrinsic motive was associated with their needs

of being attached or related in the class (r25 = 0.53, p< .01). No significant associations of

PA in PE on the motivational sequences of adolescents without ASD were observed. It is

concluded that adolescents with ASD had less PA levels in PE and lower motives toward PE

than adolescents without ASD, and external regulation was important in facilitating PA

participation in adolescents with ASD.

� 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 7 7172930x3531; fax: +886 7 7114633.

E-mail address: chpan@nknucc.nknu.edu.tw (C.-Y. Pan).

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doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2010.08.007

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indicated that children with ASD (Pan & Frey, 2006) and without a disability (Strong et al., 2005) do not engage in enough PAin order to enhance the well-being, and the activity recorded did not meet the activity guidelines. Furthermore, Pan and Frey(2006) reported that youths with ASD were less active than previous reports on peers without disabilities (Trost et al., 2002),and a decline in PA with age was also observed.

In light of this, the importance of the school physical education (PE) for developing PA behaviors is now recognizedworldwide (Taiwan Ministry of Education, 2004; USDHHS, 2000; World Health Organization, 2004). In order for PE tomeaningfully contribute toward the accumulation of daily PA, it has been recommended that PE be provided for all studentsand lessons be designed for students to be physically active at least 50% of the class time (Taiwan Ministry of Education,2004; USDHHS, 2000). Nevertheless, evidence suggests that youths with and without ASD do not meet the 50% guidelineduring PE classes (Chow, McKenzie, & Louie, 2009; Gidlow, Cochrane, Davey, & Smith, 2008; Pan, 2008; Rosser-Sandt & Frey,2005), and adolescents with ASD were less physically active than their peers without disabilities (Pan, Tsai, & Hsieh, in press).Therefore, students’ motivation may be a critical determinant of the success or failure of PE as a means of promoting PA inthis population.

Researchers have successfully used self-determination theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985) as a framework for studyingmotivation in adolescents during PE (Cox, Smith, & Williams, 2008; Gao, Newton, & Carson, 2008; Kozub, 2006; Lonsdale,Sabiston, Raedeke, Ha, & Sum, 2009; Ntoumanis, 2001). This theory suggests a sequence of motivational processes(psychological needs! types of motivation! consequences) to understand students’ motivation in PE. More specifically, allindividuals have three psychological needs: competence (e.g., feeling of efficacious to the activity), autonomy (e.g., havingchoices), and relatedness (e.g., socially attached or related), which in turn determine their motivation leads to consequences.Motivation can be broadly categorized on a continuum from less to more self-determined (amotivation, extrinsic motivation,and intrinsic motivation). Amotivation refers to a lack of an intention for pursuing an activity. Extrinsic motivation is evidentwhen individuals are engaging in activities for obtaining rewards, avoiding negative consequences, or achievingcompetence. Intrinsic motivation refers to performing something inherently interesting or enjoyable. Three different typesof regulation within extrinsic motivation for adolescents have been described by Ntoumanis (2001) in an ascending order ofcontinuum: external (participate to attain external incentives such as rewards or punishment), introjected (participate togain social recognition or avoid internal pressures and feelings of guilt), and identified regulation (participate to obtainbenefits they deem important such as friendship, good health). A combined score on the range of the SDT motivationalcontinuum is often referred to as a self-determination index (SDI) (Lemyre, Treasure, & Roberts, 2006), and this index relieson a hypothesis that a high level of self-determined form of motivation is linked to a low level of non-self-determined form ofmotivation.

Sport and PE research has shown that greater perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness link to more self-determined motivation (Standage, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2003, 2006), and more self-determined motivation is related togreater effort and enjoyment in PE (Ntoumanis, 2001, 2002), intention to participate in future PA (Ntoumanis, 2001, 2002;Shen, McCaughtry, & Martin, 2007; Standage et al., 2003), and greater PA behavior (Gao et al., 2008; Hagger, Chatzisarantis,Culverhouse, & Biddle, 2003; Lonsdale et al., 2009). Implications of this focus suggest that PA of adolescents with ASD may beenhanced and continued through the use of SDT factor structure. Up until now, there are relatively few studies that haveexamined the relationship between PA and motivation during PE in youths with disabilities, and none was for adolescentswith ASD.

To aid the development of effective interventions, there is a pressing need to examine if self-determined motivation isrelated to PA in PE of adolescents with and without ASD. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to (a) examine differencesin the PA levels and the sequence of motivational processes (psychological mediators! types of motiva-tion! consequences) between adolescents with and without ASD in PE, (b) whether associations existed between thePA levels and the patterns of motivational processes in adolescents with and without ASD, and (c) where theinterrelationships occurred in the patterns of motivational sequences within each group.

2. Methods

2.1. Participants and settings

The participants were 25 males with ASD (M age = 14.26� 0.89 year, M height = 167.38� 7.20 cm, M weight = 56.42�12.22 kg, M body mass index (BMI) = 20.08� 3.79 kg/m2) and 75 males without disabilities (M age = 14.08� 0.80 year, M

height = 166.47� 7.45 cm, M weight = 59.63� 13.63 kg, M BMI = 21.42� 4.31 kg/m2) from grades 7, 8, and 9. All participantscame from mainstream classes at 15 regular schools in a large urban city in Taiwan, and volunteered to participate and returnedsigned parental informed consent prior to study involvement. All schools provided two 45-min PE lessons per week, and PE wasoffered as a fully inclusive program.

Adolescents with ASD were diagnosed through medical and psychological assessment by experienced and knowledge-able physicians in the hospitals (Taiwan Executive Yuan Department of Health, 2009a), and identified as meeting the APA(1994) criteria for autistic disorders and Asperger’s syndrome. Diagnosis included 10 Asperger’s syndrome and 15 mildautistic disorders (Taiwan Executive Yuan Department of Health, 2009b). Level of severity (mild, moderate, severe, and verysevere) is based on functioning in the social adaptive skill areas and language comprehension and expression (TaiwanExecutive Yuan Department of Health, 2009b).

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2.2. Instruments

2.2.1. Physical activity

The ActiGraph model GT1M was used for the measurement of PA. It is a small, lightweight, and unobtrusive uniaxialdevice that measures acceleration in the vertical plane and translates this into activity counts and steps counts. TheActiGraph accelerometer has been used extensively and has good reproducibility, validity, and feasibility in children andadolescents (de Vries, Bakker, Hopman-Rock, Hirasing, & van Mechelen, 2006). It has also been used in youths with ASD (Pan,2008; Pan & Frey, 2006) and was considered to reflect good tolerance in this population.

Objective PA monitoring was performed on two PE lessons in a week during the academic year. Participants worethe accelerometer for the duration of their attendance during PE lessons. At the beginning of the PE class, aresearch assistant attached an ActiGraph accelerometer to each participant’s right hip via an adjustable elastic beltand noted the time the ActiGraph was attached. They were then asked to follow their regular routine during PElesson. At the completion of the PE class, the research assistant removed the accelerometer and noted the timethe ActiGraph was taken off. Data were immediately downloaded and the accelerometer was re-initialized for the nextPE lesson.

Accelerometers usually were programmed to collect data in 1-min intervals, and it also has greater capacity for recordingshorter or longer data. In the current study, accelerometers were set to record movement counts in 10-s epochs becauseyouths typically do not engage in long bouts of continuous activity (USDHHS, 2000). The output of the raw accelerometercounts were uploaded and then converts to calories to determine the time spent in moderate PA (MPA, 3–5.99 METs),vigorous PA (VPA, 36 METs), and MVPA (33 METs). The age-specific count thresholds in 1-min epoch corresponding tothese in intensity levels were used (Freedson, Melanson, & Sirard, 1998), and the appropriate age-specific count cutoffs weredivided by six to accommodate the 10-s epoch length. Due to the differences in the monitoring length, the relative(percentage) time spent in MPA (MPA%), VPA (VPA%), MVPA (MVPA%), and step counts per minute (steps/min) werecalculated and used in the subsequent analyses.

2.2.2. Motivation

A modified version of the Motivation in Physical Education Scale (MPES) (Ntoumanis, 2001) in Chinese (Tsai, 2007) wasused to measure motivation in PE, including three psychological needs (perceived competence [7 items], autonomy [6items], relatedness [7 items]), five motivational types (intrinsic motivation [3 items], identified regulation [7 items],introjected regulation [5 items], external regulation [5 items], and amotivation [8 items]), and four behavioral consequences(effort [7 items], negative affection [5 items], enjoyment [4 items], intention to be physically active [1 item]). The MPES hasproduced scores with acceptable reliability and factorial validity in research and practice concerning motivation for PE inTaiwanese adolescents (Tsai, 2007).

Following permission and consent protocols, students responded to the MPES statements on a 7-point Likert scale fromone (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree) in the same week PE lessons were monitored. The mean score within eachsubscale of psychological needs, motivational types, and consequences was used for data analysis. Given that five subscalesassess motivation types from across the range of the self-determination continuum, a SDI can be calculated. In this study, theSDI was formed by multiplying each motivation subscale score on the questionnaire by a factor representing the construct’sposition on the self-determination continuum (SDI = 2� intrinsic motivation + identified regulation� external regula-tion� 2� amotivation (Lemyre et al., 2006).

2.3. Statistical analyses

The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to examine internal consistency of the self-reported measures anditems of the same subscale. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each PA level and the MPES variables as well as the SDIvalue in adolescents with and without ASD. Independent group t-tests were used to compare the PA levels and the MPESvariables between adolescents with and without ASD. Bivariate correlations were calculated to evaluate simple correlationsbetween each PA level and each MPES variable for adolescents with and without ASD. Bivariate correlations were alsoconducted within the MPES subscales in each group. All statistics were performed using SPSS software (version 13.0), and theprobability level was set at p< .05.

3. Results

Mean actual (and observed) lesson length was 40.58� 2.51 and 40.57� 2.81 min for adolescents with and without ASD,respectively. The actual length did not differ significantly for both groups (t98 = .02, p = .98).

3.1. Internal consistency, descriptive statistics, and correlations among the MPES Variables

The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for each subscale in the MPES ranged from .61 to .97, and the overall reliability score forthe MPES instrument was .72, indicating that the measures had acceptable internal consistency in this population of middleschool students (Table 1).

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3.2. Physical activity levels in PE between adolescents with and without ASD

Group differences in the PA variables during PE are listed in Table 2. As observed in Table 2, significant differences areobtained on all the PA variables. Overall, adolescents with ASD were less physically active than their peers withoutdisabilities. They walked less and spent less percentage of time engaging in MPA, VPA, and MVPA during PE as compared withtheir typically developing peers.

3.3. The MPES variables in PE between adolescents with and without ASD

As observed in Table 3, significant differences are obtained on the majority of the variables. In the three psychologicalvariables, adolescents with ASD had significantly less perceived competence and relatedness than adolescents without ASD.With respect to the five motivational types, adolescents with ASD had significantly lower intrinsic motivation, identifiedregulation and introjected regulation as compared with their counterparts. Amotivaiton was significantly higher and theoverall SDI was significantly lower in adolescents with ASD than those without ASD. In the four consequences, effort,enjoyment in PE, and intention to be physically active were significantly lower in adolescents with ASD than their peerswithout ASD.

3.4. The relationships between the MPES variables and PA levels for adolescents with and without ASD

Table 4 presents bivariate correlations for the PA levels and the MPES variables during PE in adolescents with ASD.External regulation was related positively and significantly to the percentage of time engaging in MPA (r25 = 0.58, p< .01)and MVPA (r25 = 0.50, p< .05), suggesting that as external regulation increased, PA levels increased in adolescents with ASD.None of the other MPES variables were correlated with the other PA levels in this population.

Table 1

Internal consistency, descriptive statistics and correlations among psychological mediators and motivational types (n = 100).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1. Competence –

2. Autonomy .62** –

3. Relatedness .57** .63** –

4. Intrinsic motivation .68** .54** .52** –

5. Identified regulation .79** .55** .53** .87** –

6. Introjected regulation .45** .39** .40** .66** .65** –

7. External regulation �.06 .10 .15 .08 .08 .19 –

8. Amotivation �.54** �.28** �.30** �.57** �.53** �.35** .23* –

9. SDI .72** .45** .44** .86** .81** .54** �.29** �.86** –

10. Effort .63** .37** .44** .71** .77** .64** .07 �.55** .70** –

11. Negative affection �.53** �.32** �.35** �.66** �.55** �.34** .14 .71** �.76** �.52** –

12. Enjoyment in PE .70** .56** .55** .88** .82** .64** .07 �.57** .80** .75** �.71** –

13. Intention to be

physically active

.51** .43** .27** .44** .50** .41** �.02 �.23* .41** .43** �.28** .44** –

a .97 .86 .92 .95 .96 .88 .89 .94 – .95 .94 .96 .61

Mean 4.81 5.07 5.23 5.52 5.32 4.22 3.95 2.46 7.54 4.96 2.29 5.54 4.54

SD 1.52 1.38 1.26 1.57 1.45 1.62 1.66 1.47 6.87 1.53 1.59 1.56 1.68

Note. a = Cronbach’s alpha coefficient; SD = standard deviation.* p< .05.** p< .01.

Table 2

Physical activity for adolescents with and without ASD during physical education.

ASD (n = 25) Non-ASD (n = 75) t p

M SD M SD

CPM 1398.60 764.07 2088.74 1117.43 �2.87 .005**

Steps/min 30.74 16.16 43.65 17.67 �3.24 .002**

MPA% 18.42 9.71 23.31 6.80 �2.79 .006**

VPA% 14.54 9.92 21.32 12.83 �2.41 .018*

MVPA% 32.96 18.04 44.63 14.98 �3.21 .002**

Note. ASD = autism spectrum disorders; CPM = counts per minute; Steps/min = steps per minute; MPA% = percent time spent in moderate physical activity;

VPA% = percent time spent in vigorous physical activity; MVPA% = percent time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.* p< .05** p< .01.

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Table 5 shows bivariate correlations for the PA levels and the MPES variables during PE in adolescents without ASD. Asobserved in Table 5, none of the MPES variables was associated with PA levels during PE in adolescents without ASD.

3.5. The relationships within the MPES variables for adolescents with and without ASD

Bivariate correlations of each MPES subscale are shown in Table 6. While PE participation motives of adolescents with andwithout ASD varied, similar motivational processes occurred irrespective of disability. For adolescents with ASD, perceivedconnected to the class may explain the presence of links between this variable and external regulation (r25 = 0.53, p< .01);that is, more relatedness link to greater external regulation which leads to higher PA during PE in adolescents with ASD.

4. Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine in PE the patterns of motivational sequences and the levels of PA in adolescentswith and without ASD. As expected, adolescents with ASD had less PA levels in PE and lower self-determined motivationtoward PE than adolescents without ASD. A significantly positive association between external regulation and percentage of

Table 3

Self-determined motivation variables for adolescents with and without ASD during physical education.

ASD (n = 25) Non-ASD (n = 75) t p

M SD M SD

Psychological mediators

Competence 3.82 1.68 5.14 1.31 �4.05 .000**

Autonomy 4.90 1.51 5.13 1.34 �0.72 .470

Relatedness 4.68 1.46 5.42 1.13 �2.62 .010*

Motivational types

Intrinsic motivation 4.49 1.96 5.87 1.26 �3.28 .003**

Identified regulation 4.33 1.91 5.65 1.10 �3.27 .003**

Introjected regulation 3.34 1.74 4.51 1.47 �3.27 .001**

External regulation 4.40 1.38 3.80 1.72 1.59 .115

Amotivation 3.13 1.84 2.23 1.26 2.27 .030*

SDI 2.66 8.67 9.12 5.35 �3.51 .001**

Consequences

Effort 4.21 1.74 5.18 1.36 �2.86 .005**

Negative affection 2.86 2.11 2.10 1.35 1.67 .105

Enjoyment in physical education 4.76 2.03 5.81 1.30 �2.43 .021*

Intention to be physically active 3.68 1.76 4.82 1.57 �3.05 .003**

Note. ASD = autism spectrum disorders; SDI = self-determination index.* p< .05.** p< .01.

Table 4

Bivariate correlations for the physical activity and MPES variables during physical education in adolescents with ASD.

CPM Steps/min MPA% VPA% MVPA%

Psychological mediators

Competence .17 �.09 .09 .16 .13

Autonomy .07 �.10 .07 .05 .06

Relatedness .21 .04 .15 .23 .21

Motivational types

Intrinsic motivation .03 �.18 .03 �.01 .01

Identified regulation .08 �.23 �.03 .05 .01

Introjected regulation .00 �.28 �.04 .02 �.01

External regulation .38 .38 .58** .34 .50*

Amotivation �.23 .05 �.11 �.23 �.19

SDI .07 �.21 �.04 .05 .01

Consequences

Effort .10 �.22 �.03 .11 .04

Negative affection �.19 .06 �.19 �.15 �.18

Enjoyment in physical education .00 �.27 �.02 �.01 �.02

Intention to be physically active �.05 �.23 �.08 �.09 �.09

Note. MPES = Motivation in Physical Education Scale; ASD = autism spectrum disorders; SDI = self-determination index; CPM = counts per minute;

MPA% = percent time spent in moderate physical activity; VPA% = percent time spent in vigorous physical activity; MVPA% = percent time spent in

moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; two-tailed; n = 25.* p< .05.** p< .01.

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time engaging in MPA and MVPA were found in adolescents with ASD, and that external regulation was connected with thepsychological need of relatedness. None of the PA levels in PE was associated with any variable in the sequence ofmotivational processes in adolescents without ASD. The results were largely supportive of the Ntoumanis’s (2001) pattern ofmotivational sequences, especially for adolescents without ASD.

Adolescents with and without ASD are at risk of not meeting the target of at least 50% of lesson time being physicallyactive (Taiwan Ministry of Education, 2004; USDHHS, 2000). The MVPA levels during PE in the current participants supportthe lower activity levels in PE found for youths with (Pan, 2008 [46%]; Rosser-Sandt & Frey, 2005 [41%]) and withoutdisabilities (Chow et al., 2009 [35%]). PE teachers might take into consideration the PE contents they offer to provide studentswith substantial amounts of PA. Other strategies to enhance the PA levels of adolescents with and without ASD during PE arepeer tutoring (Block, Klavina, & Flint, 2007) and friendship development (Seymour, Reid, & Bloom, 2009). Through suchcontact, the PE environment would be more stimulating and motivating, and adolescents with ASD might have moreopportunities to promote PA and to develop motor skills as well as social behaviors. Furthermore, with the current policy of 2days PE per week in Taiwan, additional time to accumulate daily 60 min of MVPA in other settings such as before or afterschool PA programs for both adolescents with and without disabilities is needed.

Adolescents with ASD were less physically active than their peers without a disability during PE. This finding isinconsistent with other work which have reported that elementary school aged children with ASD (Pan, 2008; Rosser-Sandt& Frey, 2005) were similarly active as compared with their typically developing peers during PE. Activity levels of bothadolescents with [33%] and without ASD [45%] in the current study were lower than findings from previous studies (Pan,2008 [46% vs. 47%]; Rosser-Sandt & Frey, 2005 [41% vs. 51%]), suggesting that PA declines rapidly during adolescence (Trostet al., 2002). This is especially regrettable for adolescents with ASD because of motor deficits demonstrated in this population

Table 5

Bivariate correlations for the physical activity and self-determined motivation variables during physical education in adolescents without ASD.

CPM Steps/min MPA% VPA% MVPA%

Psychological mediators

Competence .07 �.01 .06 �.14 �.10

Autonomy .20 .08 �.00 .04 .03

Relatedness .15 .14 .17 .03 .11

Motivational types

Intrinsic motivation .14 .07 �.03 �.03 �.04

Identified regulation .06 .01 .02 �.08 �.04

Introjected regulation .07 .06 �.07 �.03 �.06

External regulation �.02 .05 .07 .01 .04

Amotivation �.21 �.17 �.10 �.11 �.13

SDI .19 .10 .01 .02 .02

Consequences

Effort .15 .04 �.14 .02 �.05

Negative affection �.15 �.04 �.02 �.02 �.02

Enjoyment in physical education .12 �.02 �.13 �.10 �.15

Intention to be physically active �.03 �.21 �.16 �.16 �.21

Note. ASD = autism spectrum disorders; SDI = self-determination index; CPM = counts per minute; MPA% = percent time spent in moderate physical activity;

VPA% = percent time spent in vigorous physical activity; MVPA% = percent time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; *p< .05; **p< .01; two-

tailed; n = 75.

Table 6

Correlation matrix for the variables in the model for adolescents with and without ASD.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1. Competence – .55** .27 .74** .87** .58** .04 �.67** .80** .88** �.58** .70** .50*

2. Autonomy .68** – .68** .38 .47* .32 .29 �.15 .29 .41* �.22 .40* .47*

3. Relatedness .66** .62** – .33 .40* .32 .53** �.12 .20 .35 �.24 .36 .45*

4. Intrinsic motivation .56** .66** .58** – .84** .69** .19 �.71** .91** .82** �.86** .91** .49*

5. Identified regulation .68** .65** .55** .85** – .76** .13 �.69** .87** .95** �.67** .86** .50*

6. Introjected regulation .28* .41** .36** .58** .52** – .32 �.45* .62** .71** �.50* .79** .56**

7. External regulation �.00 .07 .09 .14 .18 .24* – .05 �.07 .07 �.14 .20 .29

8. Amotivation �.38** �.34** �.34** �.39** �.31** �.21 .27* – �.91** �.78** .82** �.63** �.25

9. SDI .58** .58** .51** .78** .69** .40** �.34** �.80** – .90** �.86** .83** .39

10. Effort .47** .36** .43** .59** .61** .54** .13 �.35** .53** – �.71** .85** .44*

11. Negative affection �.45** �.42** �.37** �.48** �.40** �.19 .22 .60** �.66** �.37** – �.81** �.32

12. Enjoyment in PE .66** .67** .61** .85** .76** .54** .10 �.48** .75** .67** �.60** – .52**

13. Intention to be

physically active

.43** .42** .10 .32** .41** .27* �.04 �.12 .30** .36** �.19 .33** –

Note. ASD = autism spectrum disorders; SDI = self-determination index; PE = physical education; correlations for adolescents with ASD above the diagonal

and for adolescents without ASD below the diagonal.* p< .05.** p< .01.

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(Green et al., 2009; Ozonoff et al., 2008; Provost et al., 2007; Staples & Reid, 2010). Research indicated that individuals withpoor movement competency will become more inactive than their typically developing peers as they age (Cairney, Hay,Faught, Corna, & Flouris, 2006), and movement skills are generally found to be positively related to PA in individuals withoutdisabilities (Cliff, Okely, Smith, & Kim, 2009; Williams et al., 2008) and those with disabilities (Houwen, Hartman, & Visscher,2009). These suggest that enhancing movement skills may stimulate participating in PA or vice versa. Perhaps motor skillacquisition should remain a central goal in PE for adolescents with ASD to promote PA not only to PE but also throughout thelife span. However, future research is also needed to better understand the association between PA and movement skills inadolescents with ASD.

The significant differences that existed between adolescents with and without ASD in the psychological mediators(competence and relatedness), types of motivation (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation,amotivation, and SDI), and consequences (effort, enjoyment, and intention to be physically active) are not surprising.These results are consistent with studies indicating that individuals with disabilities often have more difficulties indeveloping social relations (Reitman, O’Callaghan, & Mitchell, 2005), poor motor competence (Harvey et al., 2007) andlower motives (Kozub, 2006) in comparison with those without a disability. Adolescents with ASD in the current studywere less self-motivated than those without disabilities may be due to their social skills dysfunction (APA, 1994) andmotor skills impairment (Green et al., 2009; Ozonoff et al., 2008; Provost et al., 2007; Staples & Reid, 2010) leading tolower perceived competence and relatedness in the PE class. Since social skills and movement performance may providean important vehicle for promoting positive peer relations and perceived competence, it appears critical that PEteachers strive to adopt strategies to promote both social behaviors and movement skills in the inclusive PE setting foradolescents with ASD.

Results also indicated that external regulation promoted the percentage of time spent in MPA and MVPA during PEclasses in adolescents with ASD. This finding is consistent with other works (Pozeriene, Adomaitiene, Ostaseviciene,Reklaitiene, & Kragniene, 2008; Shapiro, 2003) indicating that higher external motivation leads in higher PA for individualswith disabilities. Although external regulation is more a controlled (non-self-determined) rather than an autonomous(self-determined) type of motivation, this finding also suggests that external regulation is not necessarily detrimental andmay be centrally important in facilitating PA participation in adolescents with ASD in the process of internalization.Furthermore, positive association between relatedness and external regulation in adolescents with ASD may explain thepresence of links between external regulation and PA levels in this population. PE class provide ample opportunities forstudents to work together and help each other which make them to feel closer and more connected to one another. Theyengaged actively in PE because of fear of being isolated from other classmates (external regulation) so that they decided tobe actively involved to receive peer acceptance and recognition, and perhaps friendship. Previous research has highlightedthe importance of relatedness perceptions to self-determined motivation for students with (Farrell, Crocker, McDonough,& Sedgwick, 2004) and without disabilities (Cox, Duncheon, & McDavid, 2009). Findings from the current research showsthat teachers need to encourage students to spend time playing together with a very strong supervision and provide PEclass environments with opportunities for them, especially adolescents with ASD, to feel like an important person and playwith other people in the class.

Evidences in the current PE context highlights that psychological needs of supportive environments were related togreater self-determined motivation and desirable outcomes in adolescents with and without ASD. Results of the first part ofthe motivational process (psychological needs! types of motivation) show that three psychological needs were positivelyrelated to SDI in adolescents without ASD, in line with a previous study (Standage, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2005). Yet, perceivedcompetence was the only psychological needs related to higher levels of self-determined and overall motivation inadolescents with ASD. It is not surprising, therefore, that adolescents without ASD had higher PA in PE than adolescents withASD. Furthermore, this finding confirm past research, suggesting individuals with disabilities who have higher perceptions ofcompetence tended to spend more time engaged in positive behaviors and less time engaged in negative behavioraloutcomes (Dunn & Dunn, 2006). In this regard, to make students feel competent, it would be interesting for PE teachers toprovide positive feedback, making them aware that their skills can always be improved with hard work and effort, especiallyadolescents with ASD.

The second part of the motivational process (types of motivation! consequences) explained the relationships betweenthe various motivational types and a number of motivational outcomes. Levels of efforts were significantly positively relatedto intrinsic motivation and identified regulation for both groups. This makes sense because the adolescents with and withoutASD who find PE exciting and fun are likely to exert high effort to learn new motor skills and accomplish a certain level ofcompetence. Adolescents with a high level of intrinsic motivation and identified regulation were positively associated withperceived enjoyment, effort, and the intention to be physically active after the school years. Furthermore, when adolescentswith and without ASD had higher self-determined motivation they were less likely to feel negative affection in PE. Negativeaffection would be evident when these adolescents felt that they wasted their time (amotivation). Similar relationships werereported by Zhang (2009). These findings highlighted the importance of higher self-determined motivation in students’positive consequences on cognitive, affective, and behavioral health. Overall, the satisfaction of the basic psychological needsand self-determined motivation develop a more positive attitude towards PE in adolescents with and without ASD (Murcia,Coll, & Perez, 2009).

Summing up, adolescents with ASD had less motives and lower PA levels in PE than adolescents without a disability.External regulation promoted PA levels in PE of adolescents with ASD, and this extrinsic motive was associated with their

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needs of being attached or related in the class. This study supported the benefits of using SDT for the evaluation of motivationfor adolescents with and without ASD in inclusive PE classes. The results suggest that PE teachers can influence students’self-determination by means of perceived relatedness in adolescents with ASD. This motivation could have a positive effecton their attitude towards PE and leisure-time PA, encouraging a commitment to active lifestyle. The main limitation of thisstudy is the use of a correlational design that does not allow cause and effect relations to be established. Nevertheless, itprovides relevant descriptive information that may be a starting point in designing experimental studies that analyze how PEteachers can get adolescents especially those with ASD to feel competent and related to cultivate more positive attitudetoward PE and to enhance participation rates and, potentially, PA levels. Further studies should focus on the influence ofadditional social factors such as peer and teacher influences on the motivation of adolescents with ASD. Finally, otheroutcomes such as improvement on movement skill and social behaviors could also be measured.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NSC 99-2410-H-017-036-MY2. The authors wish to thank all adolescent whoparticipated in this study, parents of adolescents for their supports, and research assistants who helped with data collectionand other contributions.

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