Motivation and motor learning in children and adolescents: a systematic review

A growing number of studies have shown that support for basic psychological needs through different motivational factors positively influences motivation and motor learning. The present study aimed to systematically review scientific literature published up to the end of 2025 regarding factors that support the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the motor learning process in children and adolescents, in addition to potential mechanisms for the observed effects. After a search strategy for manuscripts in the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, 36 articles (25 with children and 11 with adolescents) that investigated motivational factors in motor learning were included. Regarding the manipulated factors, 20 investigated competence, 10 autonomy, 3 relatedness, and 3 the interaction between autonomy and competence. It was found that 89% of the studies showed that the support of the basic psychological needs through motivational factors enhances motor learning in children and adolescents. Furthermore, the 3 studies investigating the effects of two motivational factors simultaneously, confirmed positive additive effects on motor learning. Such results indicate the benefits of supporting basic psychological needs through motivational factors in the learning of different motor skills in children and adolescents. Implications and new directions are suggested.