Achievement goal orientations of young martial artists

Introduction To date, contrasting images seem to appear regarding the effect of martial arts involvement. While some studies reported an increase of antisocial behaviour among young martial artists, others described positive social-psychological effects. To make general statements with regard to the socio-psychological outcomes of sports participation, Shields and Bredemeier (1995) indicated several influential factors have to be taken into account. The present study focuses on the influence of the differences of participants' characteristics. One of the differences could refer to the specific behaviour of the participants (e.g., how self-confident, aggressive, ... is someone). Another difference of participants' characteristics reported in the literature relates to the achievement goal orientations of the martial artists. Two studies examined whether the achievement goal orientations vary as a function of the type of martial art. Gernigon and Le Bars (2000) stressed the compatibility of a competitive context and task orientation, whereas King and Willams (1997) stressed the compatibility of traditional martial arts and task orientation. Building on these findings a hypothesis, which will be investigated in the present study, is formulated: "Children participating in a harder martial art (e.g., kick-thaiboxing), where a modern approach is used, will be more ego oriented, while children practising a softer martial art (e.g., aikido), where a traditional approach is used, will be more task oriented." The purpose of the present study is to make a behavioral screening of the young martial artists and to examine the achievement goal orientations of the children. Methods 120 children between the age of 10 and 16 years who practised aikido, judo or kick-/thaiboxing in a sporting club located in Flanders and the Netherlands were interviewed. The young martial artists were asked to respond to a Dutch version of the Perception of Success Questionnaire to measure the achievement goal orientations and their parents were asked to respond to a Dutch version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire to make a behavioral screening of the children. Discussion Findings revealed, among other things, that the type of martial art that is practiced has an influence on the achievement goal orientations of the participants, which on his turn has an influence on the youngsters' experiences. However, other aspects should be taken into account when examining the experiences of young martial artists, such as the type of guidance or approach used by their martial arts teachers. References Gernigon, C., & Le Bars, H. (2000). Achievement goals in aikido and judo: a comparative study among beginner and experienced practitioners. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 12(2), 168-179. King, L.A., & Wiliams, T.A. (1997). Goal orientation and performance in martial arts. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 20(4), 397-412. Shields, D.L.L., & Bredemeier, B.J.L. (1995). Character development and physical activity. Champaign, IL: HumanKinetics.