Effects of the “MAMI Deporte®” Family Sports Program on Parents’ Motivation towards Sport Participation: A Randomized Controlled Intervention

Abstract

As most parents do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations, new PA promotion strategies need to be developed considering the role of motivation as an essential underlying factor of PA behavior. Recreational sports programs practiced in the family would represent an effective strategy to promote PA for the entire family in general, and for parents in particular. Building upon self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Active Methodology for Improving Sports Initiation (MAMI Deporte®) program on parents’ behavioral regulation. The participants were 58 parents (50% men) and 78 children (48.71% boys), who were randomized into a control group (29 parents and 39 children), which followed its habitual sports activity over 8 months, and an experimental group (29 parents and 39 children), which completed the MAMI Deporte® program. Specifically, the MAMI Deporte® program focused on simultaneous participation between parents and children in multisports activities, including 32 lessons distributed into 2 h/week for 8 months. Pre-and-post-intervention measures were collected. The results showed significant differences in the parents’ level of intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, identified regulation and introjected regulation in favor of the experimental group. Nonsignificant effects were found for gender. These results were discussed, highlighting the internalization process of the value of sport in the family experienced by parents after the MAMI Deporte® family-based sports program.