Athletic identity mediates the relationship between motor skill proficiency and physical activity level among adolescents.

This study investigated the relationships between motor skill proficiency, athletic identity, and physical activity level among adolescents. Understanding these relationships will help design strategies that motivate adolescents to be physically active across the lifespan. Ninety students, aged 11-14 years, from a middle school in Texas completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale and the Physical Activity Questionnaire to gauge athletic identity and physical activity level, respectively. To assess motor skill proficiency, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition was administered. The bootstrapping method by Preacher and Hayes (2004) was used to analyze simple mediation. The results revealed that athletic identity mediates the relationship between motor skill proficiency and physical activity level. Motor proficient individuals exhibited a stronger perception of themselves as “athletes”, which then influenced higher engagement in physical activity. In order t