Necessidades Psicológicas e Orientação de Objetivos na Educação Física: Autoestima de Rapazes e Raparigas em uma Escola TEIP Impacto do Nível e Contexto de Prática Desportiva

Abstract

Adolescence is a crucial period of development, marked by physical, emotional and social transformations that significantly influence young people's well-being and self-esteem. During this phase, school plays an essential role, not only in imparting academic knowledge, but also in developing emotional and social skills. According to Self-Determination Theory, the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs - autonomy, competence and relatedness - is fundamental to the well-being of adolescents, as well as influencing young people's orientation towards goals, whether they are ego-oriented or task-oriented, in addition to influencing adolescents' self-esteem. The general aim of this dissertation was to investigate how the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) relates to goal orientation in the practice of physical activity, and to analyze its effects on the self-esteem of young people in a school context. To this end, we present a cross-sectional study of a quantitative nature. This study involved 575 male and female students from a TEIP school in the district of Porto, aged between 12 and 23. The following instruments were used: the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale (BPNS), the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). The results indicate that adolescents who are involved in physical activities, especially federated and school sports, have higher levels of satisfaction with basic psychological needs and self-esteem, when compared to those who have practiced, but no longer do so, and those who have never practiced. Girls showed greater satisfaction in autonomy, while boys showed higher levels of competence, relationships and self-esteem, highlighting differences between the sexes in perceptions of inclusion and social value in physical education classes. In addition, adolescents who are currently active in sport have a significantly more positive perception of the variables investigated, compared to the groups who no longer practice or have never practiced any sport other than physical education. We therefore conclude that regular physical activity, especially in structured contexts such as school and federated sport, plays a crucial role in promoting young people's psychological well-being and self-esteem, and is fundamental to their development. These results reinforce the importance of promoting continuous participation in physical activities and sports practice in the school environment, contributing to the healthy development and well-being of adolescents.