March 3, 2026Open Access

Gender Differences in Motivation and Barriers for the Practice of Physical Exercise in Adolescents

Key Points

Boys exhibit a higher presence of motivations for physical exercise compared to girls, highlighting gender disparities.
Key motivational factors include competition, social recognition, and a sense of challenge, whereas fatigue is a primary barrier.
Evaluation utilized self-report questionnaires assessing motivations and barriers to exercise across diverse settings.
Findings emphasize the importance of addressing gender-specific barriers to enhance adolescent engagement in physical activities.

Abstract

A total of 852 adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age were evaluated (M = 14.86, SD = 1.67), randomly selected among a population of secondary school and Baccalaureate students. We applied an "ad hoc" questionnaire on sociodemographic data and the Self-Report of Reasons for the Practice of Physical Exercise (AMPEF) and Self-Report of Barriers to the Practice of Physical Exercise (ABPEF) questionnaires. The results obtained show a prevalence of competition, social recognition, and challenge as motivational factors, and fatigue or laziness as barriers to physical exercise among adolescents. With respect to gender, boys show a greater presence of motivations towards doing physical exercise, while girls show more barriers. In conclusion, the motivational factors and barriers interact and support each other for a better predisposition towards physical exercise.

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Cite This Study

Portela-Pino et al. (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a75d56c6e9836116a27382

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