Impact of adhesion reasons in the motivational regulation of master swimmers during the season

There are several reasons that lead a person to start and stay in a sport. In this case, reasons have fundamental importance for athlete motivation, once the higher the motivation, the more constant the search for better performance and continuity in sport. This study investigated the impact of adhesion reasons to the practice on the motivation of master swimmers. Survey participants were 48 master swimming athletes over a year of competition. Data collection was conducted with the Diagnostic Instrument of Adhesion of Swimming Practice and Sport Motivation Scale. For data analysis, Shapiro-Wilk, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Spearman correlation and Uni/Multivariate Regression were conducted (p<0.05). Results showed that adhesion reasons throughout the season remained the same (Well-Being and Prevention); identification extrinsic motivation increased over the year (p<0.05). Social Recognition reason had significant impact (p<0.05) on the External Regulation extrinsic motivation over the season, whereas Challenge, Performance and Social Recognition had an effect (p<0.05) on the self-determined motivation during the sporting year. It was concluded that for master athletes, self-determination is influenced by pursuit of performance and social relationship from the middle to the end of the competitive year. In addition, external reasons are critical throughout the season, especially at the beginning of the competition year.


INTRODUCTION
Motivation has been considered a key factor for interest, autonomy and permanence of athletes in sports as well as for a successful career 1,2 .Research has pointed out that when athletes are motivated by different types of autonomous motivation, they have greater self-determination for sports, show different behavioral consequences such as better involvement, wellness, entertainment, performance and no dropout intentions [3][4][5][6] .In this context, studies have pointed to the importance of motivational climate in the group, technical behavior and satisfaction of basic psychological needs for continuity in the sport [7][8][9][10][11][12] .However, there is lack of studies reporting the impact of the adhesion reasons for practice in the motivational regulation that the activity provides to the athlete over time.
The adhesion reasons are those perceived by the person as important in the performance of certain activity 13 .The knowledge of these reasons can be extremely important for coaches, allowing them to organize actions to promulgate a positive motivational climate in the practice environment and providing better chances of achieving their goals 7 .In the case of master athletes, motivation becomes even more important to continue practice, as these athletes, in addition to having competitive swimming as of utmost importance in their lives, also play other roles, such as in their families and formal labor 14,15 .
These inconsistent results [11][12][13] on the relationship between adhesion and permanence in sports and motivation suggest that this psychological process needs further investigation.The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) 16,17 is a macro theory that addresses human motivation and personality in various aspects of life centered on different types of motivation 3 .In this sense, this has been the theoretical basis most widely used to investigate motivational aspects in sports, demonstrating the relationship of self-determined motivation as a key factor for sport continuity [9][10][11][12] .Therefore, for self-determination, the athlete must be satisfied in three basic psychological needs addressed by the Basic Psychological Needs mini theory 12 .This mini theory supports that behavior is governed by three basic psychological needs: autonomy for being responsible for their actions; competence in facing the adversity; and social relations developed in the sport environment 17 .When these needs are met, athletes will be more engaged, dedicated and committed to their sporting goals, showing a self-determined behavior for sport 3,16 .
The SDT indicates that motivation can be regulated from a continuum including amotivation (lack of motivation), extrinsic motivation (EM) and self-determination (Intrinsic Motivation -IM), the latter being the best psychological condition for practice 17 .While IM has impact on the athlete's permanence in the sport, amotivation plays a negative role, leading to the abandonment of sports in the long term [9][10][11][12] .
When self-determined for a specific task, the subject has an autonomous behavior, performing the task in a pleasant way and by his own will (IM to know), for achieving goals that the activity provides (IM to achieve goals), for several significant experiences that it enables (IM to stimulating experiences), or according to the priority of his needs (integrated regulation) 17 .In contrast, extrinsic motivation is characterized by a regulated behavior in a controlled manner by the importance this it has for the individual's life (identified regulation), for suffering with inner thoughts of rules and duties (introjected regulation) or external requirements (external regulation).Thus, the behavior can be regulated in a more autonomous way (self-determined motivation: all IM and integrated regulation), controlled (EM of identified, introjected and external regulation) or even the lack of motivation (amotivation) 3,5,18 .
In this perspective, self-determined motivation is of fundamental importance for the continuity in sports 7,10 , contrary to controlled motivation, which may be responsible for dropout of sport 1 . .Although there are studies on motivation, persistence and sports abandonment 1,9,11,12 , little is known about the impact of adhesion reasons on the athlete's motivation regulations throughout the season.Thus, this is the gap that the present study aims to fill, since most of these studies have addressed the impact of motivation on the permanence or abandonment of specific sports.
Therefore, in an attempt to expand the knowledge about the relationship between adhesion reasons and motivation in master sport, this study investigated the impact of adhesion reasons in the motivation of master swimmers at different times of the competition season.

Population and sample
All master swimmers registered in the Master Swimming Association of Paraná from cities in northern and northwestern Paraná in 2011 were initially invited to participate in the study, totaling 65 athletes.At first (of three collections) 59 athletes agreed to participate.However, there was a sample loss of eleven subjects until the last moment, resulting in 48 athletes (43.42 ± 12.5), 33 males and 15 females.

Instruments
The Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) 19 , validated for Portuguese by Bara Filho et al. 20 , was used to evaluate the self-determined motivation of athletes.This scale consists of 28 items divided into seven dimensions: IM to know; IM to reach; IM to stimulating experiences; EM to external regulation; introjection; identification; and amotivation.The SMS was answered on a 7-point Likert scale in a continuum from 1 ("no correspondence") to 7 ("corresponds exactly").The Conbrach's alpha varied in moment 1 from α = 0.77 to 0.81, in moment 2 from 0.72 to α = 0.85, and in moment 3 from 0.75 to α = 0.86.
The Diagnostic Instrument of Adhesion to the Swimming Practice (IDAPRAN) 13 was used to identify the reasons for swimming practice.The subject must answer two questions, the first containing 16 reasons options for the start of practice, including extrinsic (location, parents decision, financial, etc.) and intrinsic reasons (e.g., identification for swimming, friendship, good physical and emotional feeling, among others).The second question refers to the continuity in swimming, with 40 items grouped into 17 categories, also addressing extrinsic and intrinsic reasons.This question is answered on a 3-point Likert scale, corresponding to 0 (not important), 1 (more or less important) and 2 (very important).The Conbrach's alpha of this instrument in the first collection moment was α = 0.82, in the second time α = 0.77, and in the third time, α = 0.84.

Procedures
The study was approved by the Ethic Committee in Research with Human Beings under protocol No. 339/2011.Initially, there was contact with the Federation of Water Sports of Paraná for approval of research with athletes for further contact with swimming teams.Teams and athletes who agreed to be part of the study had scheduled times for subsequent application of instruments.The instruments were applied in three moments during the 2011 season: the first in May, after the start of the competition year; the second during the month of September, half of the season; and the third in December.

Data analysis
Data analysis distribution was performed using the Shapiro-Wilk test.Since data did not show normal distribution, Median (Md) and quartiles (Q1, Q3) were used for data representation.To compare the reasons of permanence in the swimming practice and motivation for the sport in three applications of the tests, the Friedman test was applied, followed by Wilcoxon test.To analyze the relationship among variables, the Spearman correlation was used (p <0.05).To check the impact of the reasons for the permanence in the swimming practice on motivation, a regression model was conducted (univariate and multivariate) with variables that obtained significant correlation (p <0.05) and above 0.40 (moderate).The existence of outliers was assessed by the Mahalanobis distance (D 2 ) and the univariate normality of variables was evaluated by the univariate and multivariate asymmetry coefficients (ISkI<3) and kurtosis (IKuI<10).Since data were not normally distributed, the Bollen-Stine Bootstrap technique was used to correct the value of coefficients estimated by the Maximum Likelihood method 21 .No DM 2 values indicator of the existence of outliers were observed, as well as sufficiently strong correlations among variables that indicate problems with multicollinearity.The interpretation of the regression coefficients had as reference: little effect for coefficients <0.20, average effect for coefficients up to 0.49 and strong effect for coefficients > 0.5022 (p <0.05).Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 software.

RESULTS
In moment 1 of the study, reasons for the start of the swimming practice and permanence of the early season were both evaluated in master swimming athletes.The reasons I always liked swimming (19.10%),Good physical and emotional feelings (14.58%) and Physical Fitness (11.45%) had prevalence over the other reasons.It was observed that for the adhesion reasons in swimming practice at the beginning of the season, the Environment reason increased (p <0.05) its importance from the first to the second moment of the season (Table 1).Category Wellness (Md = 2.00) had maximum values for the three moments, but category Therapeutic Activity (Md = 0.00) had the lowest values throughout the season.Categories Prevention and Entertainment also stood out with higher values than the other categories during the three moments, unlike cost, which had low importance value for athletes (Md = 0.50).
When comparing the level of motivation in the three moments (Table 2), only EM for Identification showed significant difference between the first and second moments of the study (p <0.05), indicating an increase in the subject's identification with the sport after start of the season.Introjection regulation and IM to stimulating experiences showed values higher than the other dimensions in the three applications.

DISCUSSION
When analyzing the effect of the adhesion reasons in sports motivation throughout the season, it was found that the challenges imposed by swimming have significant impacts on self-determined motivation throughout the sporting year (Figures 1, 2 and 3).This shows that the established challenges and objectives outlined at the beginning of the year until the end of the season being represented by the search for yield (Figure 3) ensure increased self-determined motivation of these athletes.This is a feature of athletes who realize the search for yield as something necessary in their lives, as well as something pleasurable 23 .This feeling favors the continuation of competitive sports practice, since athletes are self-determined for this task, getting increasingly involved and having fun searching for the best performance 9,11,12 .
The desire athletes have to win should be highlighted, regardless of age or gender, which is the pursuit of their goals in the sport.This desire present in athletes represents how the proposed challenges and their quest throughout the year influence their self-determination from the beginning to the end of the season 24 .This highlights the importance of the pursuit of sport performance, as it strongly impacts the self-determined motivation of athletes.
Thus, the results of this study corroborate the SDT, since achieving challenging goals promulgate athletes to a self-determined behavior 17 , allowing greater taste for practice and indicating greater internal capacities for the sport practice.Similar results have been found in other studies 4,25 , checking the importance that the pursuit of mastery in sports performance has to a greater intrinsic motivation of athletes 24,26 .
In addition, the early season is also marked by extrinsic factors of adhesion, which according to the Organic Integration mini theory 17 , can also lead to self-determination to the extent that the social context makes the individual internalize goals, values and beliefs in relation to the context in which he is inserted 11 .In this perspective, the methodology used by coaches can be an external factor of fundamental importance in maintaining (Figure 1) and evolution of the type of motivation during the season, to the extent that the social context -empathy with the coach and influence of other social peers (e.g., friends, family) -has a strong impact (Figure 2) on self-determined motivation.
Such evidence supports the findings of previous investigations 9,10 , checking the positive relationship between the motivational climate of the group and the influence of the coach in the internalization of the athlete's behavior, thus favoring greater autonomous motivation and persistence during a year in various sports and among countries 6 .Furthermore, it is of utmost importance how coaches perform their activities, as individual sports athletes perceive greater attention and dedication from their coaches, favoring a better performance in sports and better psychological well-being with practice 10,27,28 .
The third-party influence (other social peers) for self-determined motivation is also linked to the social relationship that the swimming practice allows for athletes, which is a striking fact after the start of the season (Figure 2), a time necessary to meet new people and establish links with other athletes.This situation favors the satisfaction of basic psychological needs that the SDT provides for greater self-determination of subjects 17 .Athletes with higher social ties in sports practice enables the opportunity of one more reason to feel good about this activity and to feel part of that group, which according to the theory, raises the athlete's self-determination levels, making him stay longer in the sport 29 .
Social relationship is even more impacting at the end of the season (Figure 3), a moment when master athletes enjoy the last competition of the year to strengthen the existing ties, which most likely will only meet peers again in the next year.These relationships are very important for the continuity of athletes in sport, so that in addition to these social ties, other social agents such as, coach, family, friends, have direct and indirect influence on the athletes' motivation in sports 30 .
These results are consistent with the SDT 3 , especially when it comes to the Basic Psychological Needs mini theory 17 , since the longitudinal nature of the study shows how the relationship between people can positively influence self-determined motivation over time.The satisfaction of the basic need of relationship, characterized by establishing new social ties and sense of belonging to a group direct the athlete to sports practice focused on the well-being and pleasure 17 .Thus, the results of this study corroborate other recent findings 7,10 , verifying the positive relationship among athletes with higher intrinsic motivation during the season, and a recent study 29 with college athletes, which showed that self-determined motivation is related to the support among team members.
Moreover, it was found that regardless of athlete or time of practice, Social Recognition is also important to increase the EM of athletes, since this relationship was found throughout the competitive year (Figures 1,  2 and 3).Similar results are found in the relationship between External Regulation with this type of recognition in athletes of various modalities 18 , a feature described in the SDT 17 as fundamental for extrinsic motivation.The satisfaction of different emotional and behavioral consequences of athletes is emphasized, because in addition to the well-being that sports practice provides practice, the recognition and encouragement of other people, sponsors, and other external influences are also important.
Comparing the adhesion reasons throughout the season, it was found that these reasons have changed little, since Wellness, Entertainment and Prevention, reasons with autonomous characteristics, are the main reasons for these athletes throughout the season (Table 1).Such characteristics are considered extremely important by the SDT 16 , since the higher the pleasure, the experience for new and exciting sport practices and the importance given to these activities, the greater the subject's intrinsic motivation, increasing enjoying this activity.This finding may be related to the fact that when athletes practice their modalities for the reasons previously described, they tend to stay in practice due to the same reasons, as they are the main reasons for self-determined motivation of athletes 17,30 .
Another relevant evidence was found when comparing the motivational level over the competitive year (Table 2).It was observed that during the season, although athletes integrate the sport to their daily routine and, consequently, behavior can still be governed by instrumental value, such behavior can be considered as the most autonomous state of extrinsic motivation 3,11 .This fact can be again explained by the Organic Integration mini theory, since as athletes perceive swimming as important in their lives, the more likely to internalize goals, values and beliefs in relation to the sporting context.Importantly, this mini theory also points out the supports for autonomy and social relationships as critical to this behavior internalization 17 .
Despite the contributions of these results, some limitations need to be highlighted.First, the small number of subjects, restricted to two regions of the state.However, this sample becomes relevant because these are the main swimming master athletes from Parana, who have been evaluated throughout the season, adopting a longitudinal feature of the study.The technical level of these athletes should also be mentioned, since this research was based on the master state championship season, which implies a technical level lower than national competitions.Finally, the use of the first version of the SMS to evaluate motivation regulations, since this instrument does not assess the Integrated regulation of EM, which may condition the results obtained, as athletes in these phases, according to the SDT and some studies, have greater tendency to regulate their behavior in an integrated manner.For this, the suggestion to use the SMS-II is indicated for future studies intended to evaluate motivation.It would also be interesting to analyze these variables with the inclusion of three basic psychological needs, with larger samples and resources and more robust data analysis, such as the analysis of structural equations.

CONCLUSION
The results found suggest that the intrinsic adhesion reasons are more impacting for self-determined motivation from the middle of the year to the end of the season, when the proposed challenges are achieved by improved sports performance.However, social relationship is also very important for the self-determined motivation of athletes over this period.In addition, the external reasons are required to keep them motivated throughout the season, since the social context may favor the internalization of the athlete's behavior.As practical implications, the importance of the knowledge of coaches about methods and to provide a sociable environment, strengthening the bond and internalizing behavior of athletes is highlighted.Moreover, coaches should be aware of the goals established by their athletes, since performance improvement and the achievement of challenges are extremely important for the self-determined motivation of athletes.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Impact regression model of the adhesion reasons in swimming on the motivation for the sport of master swimming athletes at the first moment of the season.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Impact regression model of the adhesion reasons in swimming on the motivation for the sport of master swimming athletes at the second moment of the season.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Impact regression model of the adhesion reasons in swimming on the motivation for the sport of master swimming athletes at the third moment of the season.

Table 1 .
Reasons for permanence in the swimming practice of master athletes from northern and northwestern Parana in three moments during the 2011 season.

Table 2 .
Comparison of the level of motivation for the swimming practice of master athletes from northern and northwestern Parana in three moments during the 2011 season.