Abstract:
The aim of this study was to identify and substantiate the psychological correlations between junior athletes' intrinsic, extrinsic positive, and extrinsic negative motivations, and their self-efficacy during the stage of their professional development. Methods: The sample consisted of junior athletes aged 15–19 years, with equal representation from individual sports (n = 64) and team sports (n = 64). Gender parity was also maintained, with 64 males and 64 females included in the study. The descriptive characteristics of the junior athlete sample (n =128) are as follows: mean (M = 16.97), median (Me = 17.00), and standard deviation (SD = ±3.32). Results. Five direct correlations and one inverse correlation of motivation parameters with self-efficacy and self-control were recorded (p ≤ .050; p ≤ .010). It was emphasized that the strongest correlations graphically comprised the “psychological triangle of sports results”: intrinsic motivation with self-efficacy in subject activity and the general scale of internality; self-efficacy in subject activity with the general scale of internality. It was found that the superiority of intrinsic motivation on the general scale of internality and self-efficacy in sports activities confirms its crucial role in achieving competition results. Discussion and conclusions. It was substantiated that intrinsic motivation in juniors' sporting activities aims at achieving sports results for the sake of sports activities, in contrast to extrinsic motivation, which is based on incentives to be active due to external circumstances. It was noted that general internality is a universal dimension that can both encourage junior athletes and hinder them from achieving the desired result. It was proved that the optimal level of motivation, which is accompanied by sufficient self-control, does not allow a competitive situation to go beyond manageable boundaries and can ensure the highest self-efficacy of junior athletes. The empirical findings are of interest to all subjects in junior sports.
