Psychometric Properties of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire Among Hungarian Female Students

Based on the self-determination theory (SDT), this study primarily aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Hungarian version of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire (PMQ) among 13-15-year-old female students, and secondarily to describe their motivational profiles and the relationships between motives and physical activity level.

Three hundred twenty-five female students (mean age = 14.07; SD = 0.87) from nine different schools-wealthy, moderate, and lower income- were randomly sampled from Budapest and its suburbs. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used with the maximum likelihood extraction method and varimax rotation. To establish construct validity, Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted. Internal consistency of the questionnaire and its subscales was assessed using Cronbach's alpha.

A 27‑item, six-factor solution emerged, partially differing from the original eight-factor structure, and showed acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.73-0.84). Associations between motivational factors and sociodemographic characteristics (age, socioeconomic status, urban-rural residence) and physical activity level revealed significant effects of sociodemographic factors on motivation. Fitness emerged as the only motivational factor showing a strong, direct relationship with adolescents' physical activity level. In terms of SDT, intrinsic‑oriented, health‑ and mastery‑related reasons appeared more important than ego‑related and extrinsic reasons for encouraging female students to be physically active. Given the cross-sectional design and the urban-skewed sample, these subgroup findings should be interpreted with caution and considered as a means of generating hypotheses.

In conclusion, the Hungarian version of the PMQ appears suitable for assessing participation motives among female students in school and sport-related settings and may support educators and practitioners in better understanding motivational patterns when planning and evaluating physical activity programmes.