Self-Determined Motivation for Physical Activity in Adolescents with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder in School Physical Education

Links were examined between the presence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in adolescents and psychosocial variables related to students’ self-determined motivation in school physical education (PE). Adolescents (N = 336) with and without DCD were compared on perceived autonomy support by the PE teacher, fulfillment of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, intrinsic motivation for PE participation, and PE enjoyment via self-report questionnaires. Neither DCD by gender interaction nor main effects for gender emerged. In terms of DCD main effects, adolescents with DCD reported significantly lower fulfillment of the need for relatedness, higher amotivation, and lower PE enjoyment than typically developing peers. The presence of DCD is linked to lower levels of need for relatedness satisfaction, and PE enjoyment, and higher levels of amotivation posited within self-determination theory among adolescents in school physical education. Need supportive teaching strategies seem to be of high importance in PE classes involving adolescents with DCD.