Investigating the Motivational Factors of Imam Ali University Cadets for Participation in Sports and Physical Activities

This study aims to investigate the motivational factors of Imam Ali University cadets for participation in sports and physical activities. In this descriptive-analytic study, based on Morgan's table, 330 members were selected from among 2500 cadets of Imam Ali University randomly. To this end, Markland & Ingledew Sports Motivation Questionnaire was distributed and 285 of them were returned. Although the validity and reliability of this questionnaire have been confirmed in several studies, it has been checked again to ensure that it is consistent. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the structural validity and the experts’ opinions were used to determine the content and face validity. Based on factor loading and level of T statistics, all factors were considered as a suitable predictor for the considered index. The internal consistency of the research variables was examined using Cronbach's alpha through a preliminary study with 30 participants. In order to organize, categorize and summarize raw data, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, one-sample T-test, and analysis of variance, were used. It is concluded that the motivation of power and motivation of medical coercion have the highest and lowest score, respectively. Therefore, student's motivational needs must be met in order to increase their willingness to participate in these activities.