Abstract
M.Sc.
This study investigated the correlations between the motivational profiles as
defined by Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) and parental expectations and
criticism of secondary school children in South Africa who participate in sport.
A sample of 267 secondary school athletes completed the Task and Ego
Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) as well as the Parental
Expectations (PE) and Parental Criticism (PC) subscales of the
Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS). Results indicated that the
majority of athletes have a high task orientation, with most of them having
High task-Low ego and High task-High ego motivational profiles. High ego
orientations showed positive correlations to Parental Criticism and Parental
Expectation subscales of the MPS. A positive correlation was also found for
task orientation and PE measures. This suggests that motivational profile may
be highly influenced by the motivational climate with less parental criticism
yielding higher desirable task orientation behaviours. It was also found that
male participants scored higher than females for MPS subscale measures
and that individuals residing with other parental figures than their biological
parents reported higher perceptions of parental criticism.