




































    

 American Journal of Medical and Physical Education 
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DEVELOPMENT OF A MOTIVATION AND CONFIDENCE IN SPORT AND 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING AFFECTIVE PHYSICAL 

LITERACY OF ADOLESCENTS 

  

Thomas B. Popp and Jonathan V. Deboncoeur 

Department of Sport Management at the University of Florida 

 

Abstract: The assessment of physical literacy is challenging due to the lack of a clear and absolute 

conceptualization. This study developed a physical literacy assessment tool based on two definitions of physical 

literacy: the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take 

responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life (IPLA, 2017) and the ability to move with competence 

and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy 

development of the whole person (SHAPE America, 2014). The tool was tested with a sample of adolescents and 

showed good psychometric properties. 

Keywords: physical literacy, assessment, motivation, confidence, IPLA, SHAPE America  

 

Introduction 

The assessment and evaluation of one‟s level of physical literacy has proven to be challenging, divisive and not 

without criticism. There are several reasons for this, with the most evident and problematic being the lack of a 

clear and absolute conceptualization with definitive standards and expectations (Corbin, 2016;Edwards, Bryant, 

Keegan, Morgan,& Jones, 2017; Edwards et al., 2018; Giblin, Collins,& Button, 2014; Jurbala, 2015; 

Lounsbery& McKenzie, 2015; Robinson & Randall, 2017; Roetert & MacDonald, 2015; SHAPE America, 2014; 

Tremblay & Lloyd, 2010; Whitehead, 2013a, 2013b; Whitehead & Maude, 2016). Spengler and Cohen (2015) 

found that most countries concerned with physical literacy have developed their own definition and conceptual 

standards that reflect their respective cultural values and logics, resulting in a multitude of assessments, a lack of 

comparable data, and subsequent discrepancies in the interpretation of said data (Edwards et al., 2017; Giblin et 

al., 2014). Even within the same country, multiple physical literacy assessment tools have been developed with 

various goals (e.g., education, performance, participation) and constituents (e.g., educators, coaches, trainers) in 

mind (Robinson & Randall, 2017). A systematic review of physical literacy measurement studies led Edwards et 

al. (2017) to conclude that diverse and nontraditional approaches to understanding and assessing physical literacy 

might allow researchers to better understand its theoretical and holistic underpinnings, however, the integration 

of more empirical work situated within the various philosophical and nuanced definitions of physical literacy 

must also be considered.  

Given it is difficult to manage what one cannot measure, and likewise, hard to measure what one cannot define 

(Aspen Institute, 2015; Farrey, 2017), any discussion on physical literacy must first begin with clearly identifying 

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how it will be operationalized, what is to be measured and which definition will guide the direction of the study 

(Edwards et al., 2017; Green, Roberts, Sheehan, & Keegan, 2018).  

It is in this vein that wedevelopedour instrument in accordance with two particulardefinitions of physical literacy. 

The more internationally recognized definition describes it “as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, 

knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life” 

(IPLA, 2017). This “Whiteheadian” definition has been found to be the most utilized amongst both qualitative 

and quantitative studies (Edwards et al., 2018) and has been adopted as Canada‟s physical literacy consensus 

statement (ParticipACTION et al., 2015). The second definition of physical literacy from which we develop our 

tool comes from the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America). They reason physical literacy 

as a grade-level learning outcome in the National Standards for Physical Educators and define it as “the ability to 

move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that 

benefit the healthy development of the whole person” (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4).From these two 

conceptualizations of physical literacy,we are able to ascertain the importance of two particular affective 

constructs, motivation and confidence (see Edwards et al., 2018; ParticipACTION et al., 2015; Robinson & 

Randall, 2017; Whitehead, 2013b), toward becoming physically literate and positively engaging in a lifetime of 

physical activity.   

Currently, there are but a few instruments that assess the constructs of motivation and confidencewhen positioned 

in the domain of physical literacy affect, and of those that are, even fewer are contextualized outside a physical 

education setting and cogitate physical literacy after the age of 12 (Edwards et al., 2017). This can be problematic 

given the potential for pedagogical standards and educational settings to influence assessmentssuch that they 

become focused more on normative scores and evaluation, rather than acknowledging individual achievements 

and progress (Green et al., 2018).Further, if physical literacy is to “serve as a unifying term to describethe overall 

outcome of quality physical education, physical activity, sport, and recreation programs” (Roetert & Jeffries, 

2014, p. 39), as well as provide the theoretical and practical underpinnings for the “development of evidence-

based programs andassessments” (p. 24) for all levels of sport (e.g., youth, recreation, amateur, elite), public 

health, and physical education (Corbin, 2016), then the operationalization of the term and subsequent instruments 

is paramount. To this end, we developed a tool intended to provide a better understanding of one‟s affective 

physical literacy, via the constructs of motivation and confidence, factoring both sport and physical activity. 

Given the evolving and dynamic nature of said constructs, this tool will yield a snapshot of one‟s affective 

physical literacy, while also providing practical applications for individuals(e.g., coaches, administrators, parents, 

participants)in various sport and physical activity programs (e.g., educational, out-of-school, community, etc.). 

However, the intent is not to set standards and/or expectations regarding evaluative scores, as that may hinder 

advancing one‟s physical literacy towards positive outcomes (Robinson & Randall, 2017). Rather, this instrument 

is being developed for individuals, programs, and policy makers to better understand affective components of 

physical literacy (i.e., motivation and confidence) so as to advance more diverse and inclusive access and 

opportunities for lifetime engagement with sport and physical activity. Thus, the purpose of this study is threefold: 

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1) to develop an instrument that assesses physical literacy affect within and outside of educational settings, 

inclusive of sport and physical activity spaces; 2) to comprise said instrument with items established for the 

subpopulation of adolescents, ages 10-17; and 3) to provide a detailed description of how the tool was developed, 

both conceptually and methodologically. 

2. Physical Literacy: Centering Adolescents and Physical Education  

A key component of the physically literate individual is the “healthy development of the whole person” (SHAPE 

America, 2014, p. 4), such that they may come to both value and take responsibility for their engagement in 

physical activity across the life course (IPLA, 2017). Moreover, given the breadth of knowledge needed to become 

and maintain a physically literate life, as well as the “unique and intrinsic value of physical activity (Whitehead, 

2013b, p. 33), it comes as no surprise that Whitehead (2005; 2007; 2013b) argued that physical literacy should 

exist not only as a primary learning outcome of physical education, but also as a lifelong learning opportunity. It 

is in a similar vein that physical literacy can be conceptualized within educational settings through an application 

of Gardner and Hatch‟s (1989) theory of multiple intelligences. As a literacy construct within the educational 

context, physical literacy operates as one of seven human intelligences that provide individuals with the ability to 

solve problems or create value through the skillful manipulation and control of their body among the surrounding 

elements; and much like logic, mathematical, and linguistic skills, require appropriate curriculum, assessment, 

and evaluation within pedagogy (Gardner & Hatch, 1989).For instance, motivation and confidence are two of 

seven key principles needing consideration when physical education teachers choose physical literacy as a 

learning objective (Durden-Myers, Green, & Whitehead, 2018).   

According to Durden-Myers et al. (2018), “engaging learners‟ interest through positive experiences will foster 

the motivation to take part in physical education and help establish a desire for life-long participation in physical 

activity,” to the extent that participants of varied physical activities will be provided opportunities to discover and 

solve problems as they continue to learn about and engage with movement (p. 267). As it specifically pertains to 

physical literacy within educational settings, the construct of motivation includes behaviors such as proactively 

“taking part in physical activity, applying [one‟s] self to physical activity tasks with interest and enthusiasm, and 

persevering through challenging situations in physical activity environments” (Green et al., 2018, p. 277). 

Likewise, confidence must be considered in relation to not only one‟s ability to progress in the learning of new 

activities and tasks, but also procuring an assurance that their respective experiences are worthwhile in nature 

(Green et al., 2018).  

Taken together, physical literacy has been and continues to serve as a valuable construct within educational 

settings, both in terms of a pedagogical framework and as an outcome. Evidence-based data derived from proper 

assessment of physical literacy has been demonstrated to be a resource utilized to direct policy change for the 

betterment of physical education curricula and overall adolescent health outcomes (Tremblay & Lloyd, 2010). 

Likewise, we agree that further efforts toward collecting and providing evidence-based data must be made to aid 

vested stakeholders in sport and physical education settings (i.e., PE teachers, program administrators, coaches) 

to better address physical literacy affect; such that the motivation and confidence of adolescents are developed 

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and henceforth fostered to keep them physically active and/or engaged in sport. Thus, our measurement tool bears 

each of these points in mind, particularly the sub-population of early adolescence (ages 10 to 14), given the 

increased dropout rates of youth sport participation around these ages (see Witt& Dangi, 2018).  

It is here that we extend upon a growing literature base that demonstrates the transition to adolescence as being 

associated with a dramatic decline in both physical activity levels and sport participation (Bradley,McRitchie, 

Houts, Nader, & O‟Brien, 2011), the likes of which continue to manifest in middle to later adolescence (ages 14 

to 18; Terzian & Moore, 2009) and even into adulthood (Barnekow-Bergkvist, Hedberg, Janlert, & Jansson, 

1998). For instance, Sport &Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) data provided to the Aspen Institute revealed 

that “fewer than half of children ages 6 to 11 meet the U.S. Surgeon General‟s recommendation for engaging in 

at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week,” a stark reality that is further exacerbated 

by participatory factors such as gender, race and ethnicity, household income, and parental marital status (Aspen 

Institute, 2016, p. 6). Additional contributing factors to increased dropout rates at this age include a lack of 

enjoyment, perceptions of physical (in)competence, intrinsic pressures (e.g., stress, negative team dynamics), 

performance pressures (e.g., family, coach, peers), competing priorities, and physical factors, including physical 

maturation and injuries (Crane & Temple, 2015).  

Due to these barriers to and reality concerning both the participation of youth in physical activity and sport, 

organizations such as the Aspen Institute‟s Project Play initiative have identified early adolescence as a 

particularly crucial time within which youth are either provided or precluded from the “ability, confidence, and 

desire to be physically active for life” (Aspen Institute, 2016, p. 8). Thus, we are in alignment with the assertion 

that “both health and performance are served if the preteen years are treated as a developmental zone, with 

activities that build physical literacy” (Aspen Institute, 2016, p. 9), the crux of which, we argue, rests in the 

affective domain of physical literacy, particularly given that both confidence and motivation play an integral role 

in one‟s life course trajectory of healthy physical activity.  

3. Current Physical Literacy Measurement Tools     

As “cornerstones of the education and health fields” (p. 176), assessment and evaluation are imperative to 

providing measurements for advancement and achievement, practical updates on students/patients/clients, 

normalized and comparative data, and a baseline from which informed decisions can be made regarding 

education, interventions, treatment and policies (Lloyd, Colley, & Tremblay, 2010). Furthermore, vigilant and 

purposeful “measurement will improve the standards, expectations, profile, credibility and confidence of” (p. 26) 

physical education, subsequently leading to more physically literate children (Tremblay & Lloyd, 2010). Lundvall 

(2015) expressed doubt regarding the feasibility and possibility of assessing physical literacy, particularly when 

placed in an educational setting that likely dictates measurement toward the learner‟s skill performance and 

mastery of the abstract concept, thereby making it very difficult to account for and assess the ideals and holistic 

aspects of physical literacy. 

Given that physical literacy is a lifelong process and not an age-specific ideal, there is adearth of measurement 

tools that comprehensively account for the many and nuanced domains of physical literacy (affective, behavioral, 

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physical, and cognitive) that offer an all-inclusive and continual approach to understanding and evaluating one‟s 

level of physical literacy, further complicating efforts to attain normalized, comparative data (Edwards et al., 

2017). 

Consequently, Corbin (2016) posed several critical questions regarding the validity and reliability of instruments, 

specifically concerned with a) the multidimensional nature of physical literacy, b) physical literacy as an enduring 

or transient outcome/goal, c) whether or not assessment standards be criterion-related or normative, and d) the 

extent to which the ability of the individual or the features of the environment should be accounted.Robinson and 

Randall (2017) echoed those sentiments, suggesting the difficulties of assessing an ever-evolving, socially 

constructed concept, as well as advocating for researchers, educators and practitioners to consider whether or not 

it is necessary, or even possible, to assess one‟s physical literacy. Regardless, because “general” tests of physical 

literacy might not adequately assess and account for its multidimensional nature, Corbin (2016) stressed the 

importance of considering specific characteristics as the catalyst for the development of assessment procedures. 

Thus, we focus our instrument on two core constructs of physical literacy affect: motivation and confidence (see 

Edwards et al., 2018; ParticipACTION et al., 2015; Robinson & Randall, 2017; Whitehead, 2013b). Given the 

two sources from which we determined the necessity to study motivation and confidence, we felt it only prudent 

that we discuss how they assess the affective constructs in the context of physical literacy. 

SHAPE America (2014) incorporated physical literacy into its most recent iteration of the National Standards 

&Grade-level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education, positioning it as a comprehensive term “conveying what 

we are trying to accomplish in physical education” (p. 4). More specifically, the physically literate individual can 

enjoy a lifetime of healthy physical activity through the five standards of: 1) demonstrating competency in a 

variety of motor skills and movement patterns, 2) applying of concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics related 

to movement and performance, 3) demonstrating the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-

enhancing level of physical activity and fitness, 4) exhibiting responsible personal and social behavior that 

respects self and others, and 5) recognizes the value ofphysical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge,self-

expression and/or social interaction (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 12). However, the assessment of physical literacy 

is largely based on skill and movement competence in accordance with grade-level criteria. Very little is done 

towards the assessment of a student‟s motivation and confidence regarding physical activity. This embodies 

Lundvall‟s (2015) concern that within an educational setting, one‟s level of physical literacy is likely to be 

considered with regards to their ability to perform and master movement competence and physical skills, rather 

than their holistic development towards a physically active lifecourse trajectory. Whitehead (2013b) suggests that 

in and of itself, mastery of movement skills does not result in physical literacy, nor does it enhance motivation 

towards an activity.   

Canada‟s physical literacy consensus statement (ParticipACTION et al., 2015) also highlights motivation and 

confidence as the key components of physical literacy affect. Despite this agreed upon definition, there remain 

three primary assessment instruments: PHE Canada‟s Passport for Life,Canadian Sport for Life‟sPhysical 

Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY), and the Healthy Active Living and Obesity ResearchGroup‟s (HALO) 

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Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) (see Robinson & Randall, 2017 for critiques of and 

comparisons). The PLAY tools were found to be the least conclusive in that confidence was determined by an 

evaluator‟s assessment of a participant‟s completion of a motor task, while motivation was simply assumed to be 

a subsequent outcome of one‟s competence and confidence (Robinson & Randall, 2017). The Passport for Life 

assesses motivation and confidence via the Living Skills questionnaire. We reviewed the two subpopulations that 

best aligned with our sample (i.e., grades 4-6 and grades 7-9) and found the instrument provides a holistic 

approach to motivation and confidence, integrating them with other aspects of physical literacy such as physical 

activity engagement, autonomy, enjoyment, and anxiety (Passport for Life, 2013). While this certainly embodies 

Whitehead‟s (2013b) monistic conceptualization of physical literacy, it may be difficult to parcel out and 

specifically address the constructs of motivation and confidence (Corbin, 2016). The CAPL (2017) addresses 

such concerns with dualistic interpretations of physical literacy, with a weighted scoring system that allows 

evaluators to reflect on a cumulative score across the four domains of physical literacy. Concurrently, 

administrators can consider the constructs of motivation and confidence independently, so as to better assess 

one‟s “confidence in their ability to be physically active and their motivation to participate in physical activity” 

(CAPL, 2017, p.69).  

4. Assessing the Affective Constructs of Physical Literacy: An Overview  

Fox (2010) noted that the individualized “self” can be best understood as a dynamic, yet distinct system that is in 

a consistent state of reaction and adjustment to life experiences. Comprised of cognitive, physical, and social 

domains, the self, when situated in the physical sense, is informed by both psychosocial correlates and 

selfperceptions, such as motivation and confidence (Crocker, Eklund, & Kowalski, 2000). Each of these affective 

domainsis integral to an individual‟s ability to procure and advance physical literacy across the life course, per 

the definitions on which this instrument is predicated (IPLA, 2017; SHAPE America, 2014). Much in the same 

manner that researchers continue to engage in active debate surrounding the differentiation between constructs of 

selfperceptions (see Horn, 2004), measurement tools have been constructed, tested, and re-evaluated to better 

understand and predict an individual‟s motivation and confidence within the physical activity and sporting 

contexts. Thus, what follows is an overview of the materialization of measurement tools for each construct (i.e., 

motivation and confidence), as well as the detailed validation of the means by which items were adapted. 

4.1 Motivation  

Predicated on the notion of self-determined motivation, the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES; 

Kendzierski&DeCarlo, 1991) was constructed to assess the extent to which an individual experiences enjoyment 

during physical activity across the life course (e.g., children and adults) regardless of context (e.g., exercise or 

sport). Consequently, an individual‟s motivation to be physically active was assessed primarily through exercise 

(Exercise Motivation Scale [EMS]; Li, 1999) or general physical activity (Behavioral Regulation in Exercise 

Questionnaire [BREQ]; Mullan, Markland, &Ingledew, 1997), thus failing to account for motivation as it relates 

more pointedly to sport and sport settings.  

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However, in keeping with the tradition of self-determined motivation, Pelletier et al. (1995) expanded upon the 

tenets of self-determination theory (SDT) and developed a new measure of motivation that took into consideration 

an individual‟s motivation toward sport. The Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) was designed to provide a multi-

dimensional measurement tool, grounded in SDT, which accommodated both the assessment and henceforth 

validated measurement of sport activity motivation. As noted by Pelletier, Rocchi, Vallerand, Deci, and Ryan 

(2013), researchers have utilized the SMS to examine sport motivation through more autonomous forms to predict 

positive outcomes such as affect (Ntoumanis &Standage, 2009) and self-esteem (Zamboni, Crawford, &Carrico, 

2008), as well as non-autonomous antecedents such as determinants of athlete dropout (Pelletier, Fortier, 

Vallerand, &Briere,2001) and fear of failure in sport (Conroy, 2004). 

Nevertheless, while the SMS has provided researchers with the means to propose meaningful implications for the 

physical and psychological well-being of sport participants, the scale is not without its limitations. Mallett, 

Kawabata, Newcombe, Otero-Forero, and Jackson (2007) suggested that the SMS was not fully representative of 

each of the constructs that comprise SDT, whereby they proposed a revised scale (SMS-6) that included a measure 

of extrinsic motivation (integrated regulation) and the contraction of intrinsic motivation subscales into a single 

measure. Likewise, Lonsdale, Hodge, and Rose (2008) introduced the Behavioural Regulation in Sport 

Questionnaire (BRSQ) as an alternative measure. Unlike the SMS-6, the BRSQ utilized a newly constructed set 

of items that were represented in two distinct forms: 1) the BRSQ-8 assessed extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, 

as well as motivation, and 2) the BRSQ-6 made no distinction between intrinsic motivation types, instead 

choosing to curate a more general measure of intrinsic motivation. 

As a result of questionable psychometric properties and theoretical inconsistencies among subscale items, 

Pelletier et al. (2013) revisited the SMS and constructed a revised measure (SMS-II) that streamlined intrinsic 

motivation to a single subscale and in turn, expanded the extrinsic motivation subscale to include integrated 

regulation. While both Pelletier et al. (2013) and Lonsdale, Hodge, Hargreaves, and Ng (2014) may contend that 

their respective scales best capture the context of what it means to participate in sport, both are in agreement that 

further work is needed to better examine the applicability and longevity of sport motivation measurement tools. 

Particularly, how they align with SDT, as well as consider motivation as a function of different cultural and 

sporting contexts. 

4.2 Confidence  

McAuley and Gill (1983) indicated that confidence, as expressed through engagement in sport, may very well be 

context and skill dependent, the nature of which is accounted for in Bandura‟s (1986) understanding of specific 

self-confidence as self-efficacy. Similarly, Vealey (1986) understood sport and self-efficacy theory to be 

inextricably linked, a resounding recognition that underscores Manzo, Silva, and Mink‟s (2001) assertion that 

much of the research conducted on self-confidence in sport has been informed by self-efficacy theory.   

For instance, Ryckman, Robbins, Thornton, and Cantrell(1982) introduced the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale 

(PSES) as an early measurement scale of physical self-efficacy, but it would later be rendered a poor instrument 

as it failed to account for situation-specificity (Bandura, 1997) and conflated the construct with that of self-esteem 

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(Feltz& Chase, 1998). Hu, McAuley, and Elavsky (2005) furthered this argument by submitting that although the 

constructs of self-efficacy and self-esteem are related conceptualizations of “self,” they are not isomorphic and 

as a result, should not be conflated in terms of measurement. While the PSES has been deemed to be a more 

accurate measure of selfesteem, it is also focused more broadly on physical ability, and by extension, activity.   

  

Thus, Vealey (1986) developed a pair of measures that assessed the self-confidence of participants in the sporting 

context. The State Sport Confidence Inventory (SSCI) and the Trait Sport Confidence Inventory (TSCI) were 

constructed to account for “the goals that individuals strive for when they compete,” whereby confidence in sport 

should be “grounded in perceptions of ability, thus the competitive orientations should reflect an athlete‟s belief 

that attainment of a certain type of goal demonstrates competence and success” (p. 222). Vealey, Garner-Holman, 

Hayashi, andGiacobbi (1998), through their continued identification of sport confidence predictors,constructed 

the Sources of Sport Confidence Questionnaire (SSCQ), a multidimensional measure of sources of sport 

confidence that in its consideration of nine distinct sources, posits that “athletes gain self-confidence when they 

achieve their goals, engage in effective self-regulation of cognitions and behavior, and train and compete in a 

competitive climate that is supportive, challenging, comfortable, and motivating” (p. 76). 

Taking a broader approach to scale development, Fox and Corbin (1989) introduced the Physical SelfPerception 

Profile (PSPP), a three-tiered hierarchical measure that assesses self-esteem and maintains confidence as a 

common thread through each of its four sub-domains of physical self-worth. While initially developed as an 

instrument to assess the “physical self” in relation to self-worth within late adolescent populations (e.g., college 

students), the PSPP has since been adapted to assess perceived self-confidence within early adolescent 

populations (e.g., Barnett, Ridgers, Zask, & Salmon, 2015; Whitehead, 1995). However, McGrane, Belton, 

Powell, Woods and Issatel (2015) argued that despite the efforts of Barnett el al. (2015), “a gap still remains as 

there is no instrument for adolescents measuring physical self-confidence in relation to specific skills” (p. 564). 

As such, they constructed a skill specific self-confidence assessment tool that assesses physical self-confidence 

among adolescents, specifically that of the relationship between self-confidence and adolescent fundamental 

movement skills (FMS). In a follow-up study (McGrane, Belton, Powell, &Issatel, 2017), McGrane and 

colleagues tested and confirmed the assessment tool, drawing upon McAuley and Gill (1983) and Bandura (1997) 

to underscore the need for future research to assess FMS proficiency, physical activity, and physical self-

confidence in such a way as to gain a better understanding of how participation in physical activity might be 

informed by self-confidence.  

5. Methodology and Results  

5.1 Participants  

After IRB approval was provided and county protocol followed, a questionnaire regarding the affective physical 

literacy constructs of motivation and confidence was distributed to students at two middle schools. The 

questionnaire was developed via consolidation of adapted items from various motivation and confidence scales. 

It was then transposed to Qualtrics, an online survey platform, and the link shared. Students were randomly 

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selected to participate and of 400 students chosen, 373 opted to participate. Regarding the age of the participants, 

of the 343 who provided valid responses, 299 were aged either 11 (n = 98, 28.6%), 12 (n = 100, 29.2%), or 13 

years (n = 101, 29.4%). The only other age group comprised of over 0.6% of the participants was the 14 year olds 

(n = 36, 10.5%). A similar number of participants (n = 340) provided their racial identity, of which 110 (29.5%) 

were African American and 108 (29%) were Caucasian. Of the remaining participants, 16.9% (n = 63) racially 

identified as other, with 9.7% (n = 36) identifying as Hispanic/Latino and 5.6% (n = 21)as Asian American. Two 

participants (0.5%) identified as Pacific Islander. Regarding the number of days per week the participants (n = 

340) took part in sport and/or physical activity, 116 (34.1%) were active 4-5 days per week, nearly a third (n = 

113, 33.2%) participated 6-7 days per week, just under a quarter (n = 76, 22.4%) were active 2-3 days per week, 

and 35 (10.3%) participated only one day or not at all during the week. 

5.2 Motivation   

Items for the motivation subscale were adapted from the Sport Motivation Scale II (SMS-II) (Pelletier et al., 

2013), Motivation for Physical Activities Measure-Revised (MPAM-R) (Ryan, Frederick, Lepes, Rubio, & 

Sheldon, 1997), Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES) (Kendzierski&DeCarlo, 1991), and a Leisure 

Involvement scale (LI) (Chang & Gibson, 2015). The initial compilation of items resulted in 85 questions. After 

removing duplicate and unrelated questions, per subdimension(s), and adapting questions for adolescents aged 

10-14 years old, the resultant list comprised 3510-point Likert scale questions specific to one‟s motivation to 

participate in sport and/or physical activity.  

SPSS 25 was utilizedfor data reduction via principal component analysis (PCA). Results confirmed the data were 

suitable for a factor analysis, with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy of .97, well above the 

suggested value of 0.6 (Pallant, 2016), and a significant Bartlett‟s Test of Sphericity (χ2 (595) = 11556.40, p < 

.001).Four dimensions accounting for 69.5% of the total variance were revealed. Scale items for each of the 

dimensions considered different motivations for participating in sport and/or physical activity: enjoyment 

(dimension one), identity (dimension two), socialization (dimension three), and self-improvement (dimension 

four). Enjoyment accounted for the most variance at 51.8%, followed by one‟s identity with a particular sport or 

physical activity explaining 9.9%. One‟s penchant for capitalizing on sport and/ or physical activity as a chance 

to socialize or improve one‟s self resulted in explaining 4.1% and 3.7% of the variance, respectively.  

Of the 35 items, those that cross loaded at higher than .32 (Costello & Osborne, 2005)were deleted. Per Hair, 

Black, Babin, and Anderson (2014), “loadings ±.50 or greater are considered practically significant” (p. 115); 

thus, using this as a minimum threshold when interpreting results of the oblimin rotation we deleted items loading 

at .6 or below, resulting in 26 items. Reliability analyses were then run on the remaining items across the four 

dimensions. Dimension one (enjoyment) accounted for 12 of the 26 items and was reduced to four items with 

excellent internal consistency (.96). Dimension two (identity) was found to be in the range of good internal 

consistency (.88), having gone from nine to two items; as did dimension three (socialization), which had two 

items and an internal consistency of .82. Lastly, dimension four (self-improvement) decreased from three items 

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to two, with an acceptable internal consistency of .77.Thus, the final motivation subscalewas completed with 10 

items and a Cronbach alpha of .93(see Table 1). 

Table 1                 

Items included in the instrument measuring Motivation, Inter-Item Correlation Matrix, Factor 

Alphas, and Variance Explained   

  

  

  

  

  

  

Factor  Variance  

Questions  M1  M2  M3  M4  M5  M6  M7   

Alpha  Explained   

M8   M9   

M1 

0   

M1  It is fun.  0.96  51.8%  1.000  

                  

M2  It is interesting.  0.797  1.000  

                    

M3  It is exciting.  0.864  0.877  1.000                 

M10  

I like to learn 

new ways to play 

and be active.   

      0.531  0.568  0.578  
0.57 

4  
0.542  0.514  

0.4 

81  

0.4 

55  

0.6 

20  

1.0 

00  

All items are measured on a 10-point Likert scale (1 = Do Not Agree At All; 10 = Completely Agree) and prefaced 

with the following instructions:  

Please think about all the sports you play and your levels of physical activity, then rate to what extent you agree 

with the below statements. 

M7   
It helps me meet 

new people.   
0.82   4.1%   0.554   0.634   0.630   

6   
0.424   0.430   

1.0 

00         

M8   

It allows me the 

chance to 

socialize with my 

friends & family.       

0.542   0.613   0.599   
0.59 

9   
0.435   0.415   

0.6 

88   

1.0 

00   

    

M9   

I like to learn 

how I can 

improve.   

0.77   3.7%   0.404   0.449   0.435   

0.43 

2   0.454   0.438   

0.3 

99   

0.3 

71   

1.0 

   

00   

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I participate in sport and/or physical activity because:Note. Areas are shaded to distinguish between 

subdimensions.  

5.3 Confidence 

Items for the confidence subscale were adapted from the Trait Sport Confidence Inventory instrument (Vealy, 

1986). The scale consists of 13 items which ask participants to think about their self-confidence as it relates to 

their sport and compare it to the most self-confident athlete they know. After adaptation, the instrument asked 

participants to consider how confident they feel when playing their sport or participating in physical activityacross 

1410-point Likert scale questions. A PCA was run, confirming the data were suitable for factor analysis. The 

KaiserMeyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy was .95 and Bartlett‟s Test of Sphericity was significant (χ2 

(91) = 4229.58, p < .001). The PCA revealed two dimensions, accounting for 71.8% of the variance, with the first 

(belief in physical skills leading towards positive outcomes) and second (beliefin cognitive abilities) dimension 

explaining 64.3% and 7.5%, respectively. Results from the oblimin rotation revealed four items that loaded below 

the ideal cutoff of .7(Hair et al., 2014), which were deleted. Reliability analyses were run on the remaining 10 

items, resulting in a final confidence scalewith eight items, across two dimensions, and a Cronbach alpha of .92. 

Internal consistency was excellent for dimension one (belief in physical skills leading towards positive outcomes) 

at .94 and acceptable for the second dimension (belief in cognitive abilities) at .72 (see Table 2).  

Table 2   

                

Items included in the instrument measuring Confidence, Inter-Item Correlation Matrix, Factor 

Alphas and Variance Explained   

  

  

  

  

Variance  

Questions  Factor Alpha  C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6   

Explained   

C7   C8   

All items are measured on a 10-point Likert scale (1 = Not Confident; 10 = Very Confident) and prefaced with 

the following instructions:  

Answer the questions below based on how confident you feel when you are playing your sport or participating in 

physical activity. Please answer how you really feel, not how you would like to feel. How confident are you in 

your ability to... Note. Areas are shaded to distinguish between subdimensions.  

6. Discussion   

C7  

C8  

Make  

decisions  

Perform 

pressure  

critical  

0.72  

under  

  

7.5%  

  

0.476  0.415  0.435  0.530  0.542  0.502  1.000  

  

 
0.430  0.356  0.342  0.442  0.437  0.383  0.558  1.000  

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The purpose 

of this study 

was to 

develop an 

assessment 

tool to 

provide sport 

and physical activity participants and administrators an efficient and effective tool to assess one‟s affective 

domain of physical literacy as situated in the constructs of motivation and confidence. The instrument was 

developed with an adolescentsample because it is at this age when dropout rates from sport and physical activity 

significantly increase (Crane & Temple, 2015; Witt & Dangi, 2018) and potentially direct youth towards a 

lifecourse trajectory void of or lacking in healthy physical activity (Barnekow-Bergkvist et al., 1998; Terzian & 

Moore, 2009).We feel that framing the questions in the context of sport and/or physical activity better aligns with 

the conceptualization(s), practical applications, and implications of affective physical literacy within the context 

of applied sport management and/or physical activity and education spaces.We accomplished this purpose with 

the development of an18-item questionnaire, spanning two constructs (motivation and confidence) across six 

dimensions (enjoyment, identity, socialization, self-improvement, belief in physical skills, and belief in cognitive 

abilities).By doing so, we are not making a value judgment on current physical literacy assessments; rather, we 

anticipate and aspire for this instrumentto serve as a supplement to sport and physical activity programs, coaches, 

managers, and participants outside of an educational setting. By doing this, we are avoiding the potential 

deterministic approach of performance and skill mastery (Lundvall, 2015), and instead recognize the affective 

domain of physical literacy as a contributing factor in one‟s lifelong journey towards healthy physical activity 

(Robinson & Randall, 2017).   

As an antecedent to physical activity and sport participation, motivation encompasses factors ranging from 

physical competence to social acceptance to enjoyment (Stuntz& Weiss, 2010; Weiss & Williams, 2004). The 

final tally of motivation items comprising the scale was 10, across four dimensions, with high internal consistency. 

The four dimensions, being enjoyment, identity, socialization, and self-improvement, are straightforwardand 

make it easy to understand and interpret the results, allowing for sport and physical activity managers and 

administrators, as well as participants and policy makers, tomake appropriate adjustments or corrections 

accordingly. For instance, if a recreational league administers the assessment to its members and finds that they 

joined the league because they enjoy the sport, then the focus of games and practices can be planned more towards 

having fun. Conversely, if they find players to be more interested in self-improvement, they may consider 

modifying training regimens or practices to foster sport-specific skilldevelopment. If a sport-based youth 

development (SBYD) program wants to reach and retain more participants, they might benefit from knowing their 

local youth want to spend their time socializing and provide more opportunities to share stories, personally 

connect, and be inclusive through their sport and physical activity program offerings. Regardless, a suggested, if 

C1  Achieve your goals  0.94  64.3%  1.000            

C2  Be successful      0.799  1.000          

C3  

Think  and  act 

positively 

 during 

participation      

0.700  0.736  1.000  

      

C4  

Accept the 

challenges of  

competition      

0.700  0.691  0.724  1.000  

    

C5  

Be successful even 

when the odds are 

against you      

0.657  0.664  0.668  0.778  1.000  

  

C6  

Bounce back from 

playing bad and be 

successful      

0.681  0.682  0.728  0.741  0.760  1.000  

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not expected, outcome of all physical activity, recreation, sport and SBYD programs can and should be to provide 

for and enhance youth and athlete development opportunities (FraserThomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2005). Motivation 

is key to physical literacy, as it allows individuals to capitalize on their embodied abilities so as to enhance their 

quality of life (Whitehead, 2005, 2013a, 2013b), and thus, is a critical element of one‟s journey on an active 

lifecourse (IPLA, 2017).  

Confidence isalso a critical element of physical literacy affect (Edwards et al., 2017). Confidencecan be largely 

impactful on one‟s participation in sport and physical activity and has been purported to be “the most critical 

psychological characteristic influencing sport performance” (Vealey et al., 1998, p. 54).As noted earlier in this 

paper, when considering confidence within sport and physical activityprograms and spaces, it must be done 

relative to a participant‟s ability to make progressions as they learn new activities and tasks, as well as assure 

their experiences will be rewarding (Green et al., 2018).For example, if a physical education instructor utilizes 

this assessment with their students and finds that they embrace the challenges that new activities might present, 

then the instructor may be compelled to modify their curriculum in a way that emphasizes the refinement of 

activity-based skill development or even the introduction of new, innovative activities. Moreover, given that 

confidence is a strong informant of one‟s choice to engage in sport and physical activity, a lack of confidence 

may actually supplant one‟s ability to develop movementcompetence (Stodden et al., 2008). Therefore, it 

becomes important for SBYD, physical activity, recreation, and sport programs to understand confidence as both 

context and skill dependent, such that confidence can be “associated with the setting of challenging goals and the 

expenditure of maximal effort and persistence to achieve those goals” (p. 1186);in turn, allowing confident youth 

to succeed based on their achievement-based behaviors (Hays, Thomas, Maynard, &Bawden, 2009).  

  

In addition to its implications within the aforementioned affective elements of physical literacy, physical activity 

is linked to health-related outcomes such as healthy weight levels, physiological and psychological well-being, 

as well as cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness (see Barnett et al., 2016; CDC, 2011; DHHS, 2018).Regular 

physical activity has also been found to have positive effects on brain development (Esteban-Cornejo et al., 2017), 

academic competency (Esteban-Cornejo, Tejero-Gonzalez, Sallis, &Veiga, 2015), and behavior in school (CDC, 

2018); in contrast to the detrimental impacts of low levels of physical activity, which can lead to missed school 

days and poor academic performance (Aspen Institute, 2015). As such,results from this instrument can guide 

educational policy makers towards curricula and school-based programming that educates and empowers youth 

to become more physically literate and experience not only the inherent benefits of physical activity, but also the 

supplemental and intangible outcomes associated with increased academic engagement and educational 

behaviors. Likewise, results can be utilized by programs to evaluate their current offering of sport or physical 

activities and determine if they are appropriately promoting and facilitating a lifetime commitment to being active. 

Given the decreasing rates of sport participation and physical activity, as well as increased health issues and 

sedentary lifestyles in the United States (Aspen Institute, 2016), it is critical to understand why adolescents may 

not be demonstrating more concern for the development and enhancement of their physical and mental well-

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being. Therefore, thistoolcan be helpful in evaluating long-term developmental outcomes associated with physical 

activity and sport programs.  

This assessment is designed to be a snapshot of one‟s affective physical literacy in early adolescence (ages 10 to 

14), the utility of which may allow for not only access to, but also opportunities for engagement with sport and 

physical activity across the lifecourse. As such, the ease of use and longitudinal application of the tool validates 

its practical importance to any sport, fitness, physical activity, recreation, or SBYD program. Affording users 

with the capability to consider motivation, across four subdimensions, and confidence, between two 

subdimensions, of both sport and physical activity is a unique contribution of this manuscript. As this instrument 

becomes more widely utilized to assess affective physical literacy among sport and physical activity participants, 

we expect it will be adapted and validated for participants and administrators of all skill-levels, abilities, 

knowledge and ages in a multitude of environments. This should afford participants, coaches, administrators, and 

policy makers the opportunity to better understand the affective domain of physical literacy (i.e., motivation and 

confidence) and enhance programming and daily interaction with sport and physical activity so as to facilitate 

and promote physical literacy.  

7. Limitations 

As with most studies, this one was not without limitations. Though the participant sample was diverse regarding 

both race and gender, being recruited from only two middle schools in the same county may limit generalizability 

to a greater population. The scoring of this new instrument could also prove a bit restrictive, as it does not align 

with any other sport and physical activity scales to which it can be compared. However, physical literacy is 

conceptualized as pertinent to an individual‟s journey, arguably not to be considered in regards to peers or other 

groups (Whitehead, 2013b). Regardless, the opportunity to parcel out scores pertaining to the core affective 

domains of physical literacy (i.e., motivation and confidence) is beneficial to better understanding one‟s particular 

psychosocial/emotional engagement with sport and physical activity. Lastly, a unique contribution is that the 

assessment considers motivation and confidence in both sport and physical activity. However, this can also serve 

as a limitation given the instrument‟s current inability to determine whether a participant‟s self-reported scores 

were in the context of sport, physical activity, or both. We recommend future iterations consider this potential 

hindrance. 

  

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