Satisfaction, Enjoyment and Boredom with Physical Education as Mediator between Autonomy Support and Academic Performance in Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to analyze the mediating effect of satisfaction/enjoyment and boredom between the perception of autonomy support and academic performance in physical education. The sample consisted of 374 girls (M(age) = 13.99; SD = 0.30) and 374 boys (M(age) = 14.02; SD = 0.33) from the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The instruments used were the Questionnaire for Autonomy Support in Physical Education (CAA-EF), Sport Satisfaction Intrinsic in Physical Education (SSI-EF) and the physical education performance of the students. The instrument’s validity tests were analyzed using confirmatory procedures. Descriptive, reliability, and validity analyses were carried out for each instrument, and the mediating effect was examined; a mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS V.3.5 macro. The main results revealed that autonomy support is not a direct indicator of physical education performance, but rather that students must feel satisfied with physical education for there to exist a forecast for a positive physical education performance. Satisfaction with physical education was found to have a mediating effect between autonomy support and physical education performance. However, boredom did not have a mediating effect between autonomy support and the student’s performance in physical education class.