Identifying and Prioritizing the Factors Affecting the Regulation of Sports Behavior of Track and Field Athletes

Background and aim: Self-regulation refers to the ability of individuals to set sports goals, maintain a path to progress toward training goals, and understand the personal rewards of doing sports behavior. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the regulation of sports behavior of track and field athletes. Methods: The present study was practical in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of research type; data collection was performed in the field. The statistical population included the country's athletes. A sample of ۲۱۶ individuals was selected based on the ۱۰ to ۱۵ times the number of questions method. In order to collect data, a standard questionnaire of sports behavior regulation was used (Markland and Tobin, ۲۰۰۴). SPSS۲۳ and LISREL ۸۰/۸۰ software were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that there is a significant priority among the components of sports behavior regulation. Accordingly, the most important priority is related to the component of "internal regulation", followed by "inward regulation", "lack of motivation" and "external regulation". Also, there is a significant correlation (P < ۰.۰۱) between all components of sports behavior regulation and a significant negative correlation between "lack of motivation" and other components (P < ۰.۰۱). Finally, it was found that the structural equation model of the research has a significant fit. Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be said that increasing the amount of internal and external motivation reduces lack of motivation in athletes and vice versa. Therefore, coaches should always try to strengthen athletes in terms of external and internal motivation to regulate athletic behavior in them and achieve the desired results in sports competitions.

Keywords:

Regulation of Sports Behavior , Athletics , Motivation , External Regulation , Internal Regulation