Autonomy-supportive physical education, harmonious passion, and mental health in adolescent girls during COVID-19

Babaei, Solmaz; Parvaneh, Masoumeh

doi:10.61186/rabms.11.2.125

Volume 11, Issue 2 (4-2025) Journal of Research in Applied and Basic Medical Sciences 2025, 11(2): 125-138 | Back to browse issues page

‎ 10.61186/rabms.11.2.125

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

Babaei S, Parvaneh M. Autonomy-supportive physical education, harmonious passion, and mental health in adolescent girls during COVID-19. Journal of Research in Applied and Basic Medical Sciences 2025; 11 (2) :125-138
URL: http://ijrabms.umsu.ac.ir/article-1-382-en.html

Autonomy-supportive physical education, harmonious passion, and mental health in adolescent girls during COVID-19

Solmaz Babaei ^*

, Masoumeh Parvaneh

Associate Professor, Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran , s.babaei@maragheh.ac.ir

Abstract: (388 Views)

Background & Aims: A crucial issue for the health of children and adolescents is understanding how to boost their level of physical activity during the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has limited opportunities for engaging in physical activity, even for activities that students find enjoyable.
Materials & Methods: This study investigates students’ autonomy in sports to foster harmonious passion for physical activity and mental health. Self-determination theory was used as the theoretical framework. A total of 236 female students (Mage = 15.36) participated in a 16-week research project. Samples were randomly divided into an autonomy-support group and a control group.
Results: The results showed that the experimental group had more harmonious passion (p < 0.05). They also reported more physical activity, less loneliness, and greater mental vitality (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Physical education based on autonomy support during the COVID-19 pandemic was effective in fostering harmonious passion for physical activity and reducing the negative psychological consequences of virus outbreaks.

Keywords: Autonomy-support, Dualistic model of passion, Loneliness, Subjective vitality, Corona virus

Full-Text [PDF 385 kb] (78 Downloads)

Type of Study: orginal article | Subject: General

References

1. Loades ME, Chatburn E, Higson-Sweeney N, Reynolds S, Shafran R, Brigden A, et al. Rapid systematic review: the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2020;59(11):1218-1239.e3. [DOI:10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009] [PMID] [PMCID]

2. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 2020;395(10227):912-20. [DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8] [PMID]

3. Yıldırım M, Arslan G, Özaslan A. Perceived risk and mental health problems among healthcare professionals during COVID-19 pandemic: exploring the mediating effects of resilience and coronavirus fear. Int. J. Ment. Health Addict 2022;20(2):1035-45. [DOI:10.1007/s11469-020-00424-8] [PMID] [PMCID]

4. Tanhan A. COVID-19 Sürecinde Online Seslifoto (OSF) Yöntemiyle Biyopsikososyal Manevi ve Ekonomik Meseleleri ve Genel İyi Oluş Düzeyini Ele Almak: OSF'nin Türkçeye Uyarlanması. J. Turk. Stud 2020;15 Issue 4(Volume 154):1029-86. [DOI:10.7827/TurkishStudies.44451]

5. Arslan G, Yıldırım M, Aytaç M. Subjective vitality and loneliness explain how coronavirus anxiety increases rumination among college students. Death Stud 2022;46(5):1042-51. [DOI:10.1080/07481187.2020.1824204] [PMID]

6. Behzadnia B, FatahModares S. Basic psychological need-satisfying activities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Appl. Psychol. Health Well Being 2020;12(4):1115-39. [DOI:10.1111/aphw.12228] [PMID]

7. Cheon SH, Reeve J, Moon IS. Experimentally based, longitudinally designed, teacher-focused intervention to help physical education teachers be more autonomy supportive toward their students. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol 2012;34(3):365-96. [DOI:10.1123/jsep.34.3.365] [PMID]

8. Behzadnia B, Mohammadzadeh H, Ahmadi M. Autonomy-supportive behaviors promote autonomous motivation, knowledge structures, motor skills learning and performance in physical education. Curr. Psychol. 2019;38(6):1692-705. [DOI:10.1007/s12144-017-9727-0]

9. Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness: Guilford Publications; 2017. [DOI:10.1521/978.14625/28806]

10. Leyton-Román M, de la Vega R, Jiménez-Castuera R. Motivation and commitment to sports practice during the lockdown caused by covid-19. Front. Psychol 2020;11:622595. [DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.622595] [PMID] [PMCID]

11. Deci EL, Ryan RM. The" what" and" why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological inquiry 2000;11(4):227-68. [DOI:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01]

12. Jang H, Kim EJ, Reeve J. Why students become more engaged or more disengaged during the semester: A self-determination theory dual-process model. Learn. Instr 2016;43:27-38. [DOI:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.002]

13. Haerens L, Aelterman N, Vansteenkiste M, Soenens B, Van Petegem S. Do perceived autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching relate to physical education students' motivational experiences through unique pathways? Distinguishing between the bright and dark side of motivation. Psychol. Sport Exerc 2015;16:26-36. [DOI:10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.08.013]

14. Reeve J, Cheon SH. Autonomy-supportive teaching: Its malleability, benefits, and potential to improve educational practice. Educ. Psychol 2021;56(1):54-77. [DOI:10.1080/00461520.2020.1862657]

15. Tilga H, Kalajas-Tilga H, Hein V, Koka A. Web-based and face-to-face autonomy-supportive intervention for physical education teachers and students' experiences. J. Sports Sci. Med 2021;20(4):672-83. [DOI:10.52082/jssm.2021.672] [PMID] [PMCID]

16. Vallerand RJ. On the psychology of passion: In search of what makes people's lives most worth living. Can. Psychol 2008;49(1):1-13. [DOI:10.1037/0708-5591.49.1.1]

17. Vallerand RJ. On passion for life activities: The dualistic model of passion. Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol 2010;42:97-193. [DOI:10.1016/S0065-2601(10)42003-1]

18. Vallerand RJ, Blanchard C, Mageau GA, Koestner R, Ratelle C, Leonard M, et al. Les passions de l'âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol 2003;85(4):756-67. [DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.756] [PMID]

19. Moustaka FC, Vlachopoulos SP, Kabitsis C, Theodorakis Y. Effects of an autonomy-supportive exercise instructing style on exercise motivation, psychological well-being, and exercise attendance in middle-age women. J. Phys. Act. Health 2012;9(1):138-50. [DOI:10.1123/jpah.9.1.138] [PMID]

20. Sheldon KM, Elliot AJ. Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: the self-concordance model. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol 1999;76(3):482-97. [DOI:10.1037//0022-3514.76.3.482] [PMID]

21. Mageau GA, Vallerand RJ, Charest J, Salvy S-J, Lacaille N, Bouffard T, et al. On the development of harmonious and obsessive passion: the role of autonomy support, activity specialization, and identification with the activity. J. Pers 2009;77(3):601-46. [DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00559.x] [PMID]

22. Bonneville-Roussy A, Vallerand RJ, Bouffard T. The roles of autonomy support and harmonious and obsessive passions in educational persistence. Learn. Individ. Differ 2013;24:22-31. [DOI:10.1016/j.lindif.2012.12.015]

23. Curran T, Hill AP, Appleton PR, Vallerand RJ, Standage M. The psychology of passion: A meta-analytical review of a decade of research on intrapersonal outcomes. Motiv. Emot 2015;39(5):631-55. [DOI:10.1007/s11031-015-9503-0]

24. Vallerand RJ. The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being. Psychol. Well Being 2012;2(1):1. [DOI:10.1186/2211-1522-2-1]

25. Donahue EG, Rip B, Vallerand RJ. When winning is everything: On passion, identity, and aggression in sport. Psychol. Sport Exerc 2009;10(5):526-34. [DOI:10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.02.002]

26. Stadden SA. The influence of athletic identity, expectation of toughness, and attitude toward pain and injury on athletes' help-seeking tendencies: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 2007. [Google Scholar]

27. Heidinger T, Richter L. The effect of COVID-19 on loneliness in the elderly. An empirical comparison of pre-and Peri-pandemic loneliness in community-dwelling elderly. Front. Psychol 2020;11:585308. [DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.585308] [PMID] [PMCID]

28. Ryan RM, Frederick C. On energy, personality, and health: subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. J. Pers 1997;65(3):529-65. [DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00326.x] [PMID]

29. Ryan RM, Deci EL. From ego depletion to vitality: Theory and findings concerning the facilitation of energy available to the self: From ego depletion to vitality. Soc. Personal. Psychol 2008;2(2):702-17. [DOI:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00098.x]

30. Uğur E, Kaya Ç, Özçelik B. Subjective vitality mediates the relationship between respect toward partner and subjective happiness on teachers. Univers. J. Educ. Res 2019;7(1):126-32. [DOI:10.13189/ujer.2019.070117]

31. Taylor IM, Lonsdale C. Cultural differences in the relationships among autonomy support, psychological need satisfaction, subjective vitality, and effort in British and Chinese physical education. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol 2010;32(5):655-73. [DOI:10.1123/jsep.32.5.655] [PMID]

32. Salama-Younes M. Positive mental health, subjective vitality and satisfaction with life for French physical education students. WJSS 2011;4(2):90-7. [DOI:10.1037/e537902012-068]

33. Satici SA. Hope and loneliness mediate the association between stress and subjective vitality. J. Coll. Stud. Dev 2020;61(2):225-39. [DOI:10.1353/csd.2020.0019]

34. Kapetanovic S, Gurdal S, Ander B, Sorbring E. Reported changes in adolescent psychosocial functioning during the COVID-19 outbreak. Adolescents 2021;1(1):10-20. [DOI:10.3390/adolescents1010002]

35. Behzadnia B, Kiani A, Babaei S. Autonomy-supportive exercise behaviors promote breast cancer survivors' well-being. Health Promot. Perspect 2020;10(4):409-17. [DOI:10.34172/hpp.2020.60] [PMID] [PMCID]

36. Fenton SAM, Duda JL, Quested E, Barrett T. Coach autonomy support predicts autonomous motivation and daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time in youth sport participants. Psychol. Sport Exerc 2014;15(5):453-63. [DOI:10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.04.005]

37. Aghdasi MT, Mohammadzadeh H, Ghavami A. The Relationship between Passion for Physical Activity and Life Satisfaction in Male Students: A Dual Approach to Passion. RSMMB 2016;6(12). [URL]

38. Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, et al. International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 2003;35(8):1381-95. [DOI:10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB] [PMID]

39. Russell D, Peplau LA, Cutrona CE. The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol 1980;39(3):472-80. [DOI:10.1037//0022-3514.39.3.472] [PMID]

40. Naderi F, Haghshenas F. The relationship between impulsivity and loneliness with the use of mobile phones in students. New discoveries in psycologie 2009;4(12):111 - 21 [Google Scholar]

41. Al-Islami RS, daftarchi E. Predicting students' mental vitality based on goal orientations and basic psychological needs. Journal of Psychology 2015;19(2):147-74. [Google Scholar]

42. Mageau GA, Sherman A, Grusec JE, Koestner R, Julien S. Bureau. Different ways of knowing a child and their relations to mother-reported autonomy support: MAGEAU et al. Soc. Dev 2017;26(3):630-44. [DOI:10.1111/sode.12212]

43. Castillo I, Molina-García J, Estevan I, Queralt A, Álvarez O. Transformational teaching in physical education and students' leisure-time physical activity: The mediating role of learning climate, passion and self-determined motivation. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020;17(13):4844. [DOI:10.3390/ijerph17134844] [PMID] [PMCID]

44. Antunes R, Rebelo-Gonçalves R, Amaro N, Salvador R, Matos R, Morouço P, et al. Higher physical activity levels may help buffer the negative psychological consequences of Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. Front. Psychol 2021;12:672811. [DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.672811] [PMID] [PMCID]

45. Yang J-Y, Lim T-H, Kim D-H. Effects of Perceived Autonomy Support on Intrinsic Motivation and Passion for Major students of Security Martial Arts. Korean Security Journal 2016;46:87-112. [Google Scholar]

46. Schellenberg BJI, Verner-Filion J, Gaudreau P, Bailis DS, Lafrenière M-AK, Vallerand RJ. Testing the dualistic model of passion using a novel quadripartite approach: A look at physical and psychological well-being. J. Pers 2019;87(2):163-80. [DOI:10.1111/jopy.12378] [PMID]

47. Moeller RW, Seehuus M. Loneliness as a mediator for college students' social skills and experiences of depression and anxiety. J. Adolesc 2019;73(1):1-13. [DOI:10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.03.006] [PMID] [PMCID]

48. Yavuzer Y, Albayrak G, Kılıçarslan S. Relationships amongst aggression, self-theory, loneliness, and depression in emerging adults. Psychol. Rep 2019;122(4):1235-58. [DOI:10.1177/0033294118784866] [PMID]