Examining motivation patterns among recreational sport participants with different PERMA levels

<h4>Purpose:</h4> This paper aimed to use PERMA, a holistic measure of perceived well-being, to cluster recreational sport participants and further validate the clusters, based on scores of motivations and intentions to continue exercising. <h4>Methodology:</h4> The self-determination theory was used to study motivation. The sample of this study consisted of three hundred and eighteen (N=318) adult individuals in Greece. The PERMA profiler and SRQ-E were used to measure the study’s main variables. <h4>Findings:</h4> The results indicated that PERMA is a valid tool for clustering recreational sports participants. The group with the highest PERMA scores had higher scores in the intrinsic motivation dimension, the identified and integrated regulations sub-dimensions, and behavioural intentions. <h4>Practical Implications:</h4> Exercise providers should create exercise environments that promote the most autonomous motives, related to fun, enjoyment, and pleasure. Strategies to satisfy the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are important to build perceived well-being and increase individuals’ loyalty to the programs. <h4>Research contribution:</h4> The study contributes to the literature by profiling the first individuals with different well-being levels, as measured holistically by PERMA, based on their motivation dimensions, addressing the past contradicted findings on the relationship between extrinsic motivation and well-being among recreational sport participants.