Achievement Motivation Among Athletes and Non-Athletes Students

Andrea Vlašić, Dijana Ivanišević, Ekrem Čolakhodžić

The aim of this study was to explore achievement motivation by comparing students who participate in sports with those who do not, and to determine potential differences between professional and recreational athletes. The research included 200 students from the Faculty of Education, University “Džemal Bijedić” in Mostar. The sample consisted of 100 students involved in sports either professionally or recreationally and 100 students who were not engaged in sports activities.

The groups were matched according to their year of study and average academic performance. Achievement motivation was assessed using the MOP2002 questionnaire (Franceško, Mihić & Bala, 2002), while sociodemographic characteristics were collected through a questionnaire designed specifically for the purposes of this research.

The results showed a statistically significantly higher level of achievement motivation among athletes compared to non-athletes. Furthermore, students who participated in sports at a professional level demonstrated higher achievement motivation than those who engaged in sports only recreationally.