Socio-Ecological Determinants and Psychological Factors of Women Participation in Sports

Abstract

We examined which factors that have mostly influenced women participation in sports either: Socio-ecological Determinants or Psychological Factors. We utilized Ecological System and Motivational Theories as underpinning theoretical framework to examine which factors have influenced women athletes most. We used a survey research involving 100 women athletes in Malaysia where all of them have been participated actively in sports, internationally and nationally. A set of modified questionnaire was administered to all of them using purposive sampling technique. Data gathered was descriptively analyzed where it has been found that Psychological Factors are found to be more influenced women athlete rather than Socio-ecological Determinants. Detailed results revealed that the majority of women athletes involved in sport events because of their intrinsic motivations rather than extrinsic motivations. Detailed result on Socio-ecological factors demonstrated that the closer ecological layer into women’s daily life i.e. family support and encouragement is found to have more influenced them rather than outer ecological layer of their life i.e. friendship and peer support. This study suggests that psychological elements are supposed to be a priority to motivate women participation in sport. However, it
does not mean that other factors should be ignored as results from this study also indicating that all psychological and sociological
elements are also contributing towards women participation in sports. Therefore, a comprehensive module that has a combination
of these dimensions is vital for enhancing women athletes’ participation in sports.