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This study aimed to investigate the influence of constraint dimensions on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation. The self-determination theory and the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivationwere used as the theoretical framework. Two hundred and fifty seven (N = 257) adult individuals (residents of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece), who reported participation in some type of sport and physical activity, completed the Sport Motivation Scale and the leisure constraints questionnaire. The results indicated that intrapersonal constraints accounted for 38% of the variance in amotivation, and 15% of the variance in intrinsic motivation. No relationships were revealed between interpersonal and structural constraints and motivation, and between constraint dimensions and extrinsic motivation. These results suggest that intrapersonal constraints act as de-motivating forces for individuals. They support elements of the hierarchical model of leisure constraints, and further clarify the role of motivation in the model. Finally, they suggest that future research should focus on the conceptualization of intrapersonal constraints, and their relations with other social and psychological mediators of motivation that have been proposed in the literature.
KEYWORDS: Sport motivation, intrapersonal constraints, recreational sport participation
In a theoretical framework for the study of leisure constraints, Crawford, Jackson and Godbey (1991) developed the hierarchical model of leisure constraints, which was later expanded by the "negotiation" and "balance" propositions (Jackson, Crawford, & Godbey, 1993). These propositions, for the first time, introduced the concept of motivation in leisure constraint research. They suggested that participation results from successful negotiation of leisure constraints. Motivation is an important construct in this negotiation: "both the negotiation and the outcome of the negotiation process are dependent on the relative strength of, and interaction between, constraints on participating in an activity and motivations for such participation" (P. 9).
The concept of motivation has not received significant attention in the constraints literature. A study conducted in Greece by Carroll and Alexandris (1997), a recent study conducted in a corporate employee setting by Hubbard and Mannell (2001), and a qualitative research on immigrants' leisure patterns (Stoldoska, 2000), have been the exceptions. All these studies provided evidence for the important role of motivation in the hierarchical model of leisure constraints, and concluded that further research is required. Hubbard and Mannell (2001) suggested, "whether or not motivation...