The associations between affective states and motivation in Tunisian cross country trained runners

IntroductionThis study draws on Self-Determination Theory to examine the relationships between motivational regulations and pre-competition affective states in Tunisian adolescent competitive cross-country runners, with consideration of gender differences.MethodsA total of 116 athletes participated in the study (56% female; 44% male; M = 16.31 years). Participants completed the French versions of the Sport Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II/EMS-II) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-D).ResultsCorrelation analyses revealed significant associations between motivational regulations and affective states, with coefficients ranging from r = 0.30 to r = 0.86. In general, autonomous forms of motivation were positively associated with Positive Affect and negatively associated with Negative Affect, whereas controlled forms of motivation showed the opposite pattern. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the model for Positive Affect was statistically significant, F(6, 109) = 92.139, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.835. Intrinsic motivation (B = 0.544, SE = 0.175, β = 0.308, 95% CI [0.197, 0.891], p = 0.002), integrated regulation (B = 0.514, SE = 0.228, β = 0.218, 95% CI [0.063, 0.966], p = 0.026), and external regulation (B = −0.630, SE = 0.234, β = −0.290, 95% CI [−1.094, −0.167], p = 0.008) emerged as significant predictors. The model for Negative Affect was also significant, F(6, 109) = 53.856, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.748, with only external regulation as a significant predictor (B = 1.380, SE = 0.272, β = 0.677, 95% CI [0.842, 1.919], p < 0.001).ConclusionThese findings indicate that motivational regulations are collectively associated with pre-competition affective states, yet only specific forms of regulation make independent contributions when examined simultaneously. The results support Self-Determination Theory by highlighting the differentiated roles of autonomous and controlled motivation in relation to athletes’ emotional experiences in a Tunisian endurance sport context.