PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES AS A DETERMINANT OF SPORTS PARTICIPATION AMONG UNDERGRADUATE REGISTERED STUDENT ATHLETES IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to examine psychological attributes as a determinant of sports participation among undergraduate registered student athletes in University of Benin. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study from which 16 items were developed to construct the questionnaire. The study employed the descriptive survey research design and the population of the study consisted of student athletes in the University of Benin. From the population, a total number of one hundred (100) respondents was drawn. The simple count, frequency percentages was used to analyse the demographic information of students and the response of the respondents to the research questions that were raised in order to test for the hypotheses. The findings revealed that that psychological attributes play a vital role to determine sport participation among student athletes in the study area. Psychological attributes such as self-confidence and personal value was emphasized to be a major determinant of sport participation. It was also realized that strong and continuous participation of student athletes in sport in the study area, revolve around perceived success and also task familiarity.