Reference system of competence and engagement in adapted physical activities of people with recent spinal cord injury

This study tested whether persons with Recent Spinal Cord Injury (RSCI) who practice adapted physical activities (APA) and those who do not differ with regard to achievement goals, physical self-perceptions, and global self-esteem.

Adults with RSCI in rehabilitation centers voluntarily completed questionnaires of achievement goals and self-esteem. Then, based on whether they engaged or not in APA programs, they were considered participants or non-participants in APA.

Compared to participants in APA, non-participants were more oriented toward mastery-avoidance goals and had lower scores of physical self-worth and global self-esteem. No differences were found for other achievement goals and for low-level dimensions of physical self.

These findings suggest that mastery-avoidance goals are associated with a maladaptive motivational pattern when intrapersonal comparison conveys a threat for the self. Practical implications for rehabilitation programs for persons with RSCI are offered.

Adapted Physical Activities (APA) programs are supervised physical activity programs in which the choice of the activity as well as the frequency, the duration, and the intensity of practice are adapted to the inpatients' capabilities. Attempts to master physical activities can be seen as threatening experiences to be avoided by persons with Recent Spinal Cord Injury (RSCI) in rehabilitation centers. Comparing one's capabilities in physical activities with those of other persons with RSCI is not motivationally detrimental with respect to the practice of these activities. Upon persons with RSCI' arrival in rehabilitation centers, physical educators should promote a friendly competitive climate in the practice of APA to help inpatients recover healthy levels of physical self-perceptions and global self-esteem as well as motivation to exercise.