Perfectionism of parents and sports motivation of children studying in sports schools

<p><strong>Context and relevance.</strong> The theme of the work is dictated by the increasingly early professionalization of children's sports, the key concepts of which are perfectionism and motivation. Motivation is a significant predictor of learning achievement and overall well-being of children. In children of primary school age, parental attitudes play a significant role in the formation of motivation, which determine the child's attitude to sports activities in general and to personal achievements in particular. <strong>Objective.</strong> To study the relationship of parental attitude and perfectionism of mothers with the characteristics of sports motivation and anxiety of primary school-age children enrolled in sports schools. <strong>Hypothesis.</strong> There is a connection between the type of sports motivation in children-athletes of primary school age and the indicators of perfectionism in their mothers. We also suggested that there is a connection between mothers' perfectionism and their attitude to their children's failures and their desire to control them. <strong>Methods and materials.</strong> The study involved 42 children aged 7-11 (M = 9.73) enrolled in sports schools and 42 mothers (M = 37.21). The following methods were offered to parents: “R. Frost's Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale” adapted by S.N. Enikolopov and V.A. Yasnaya; “P. Hewitt and G. Flett's Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale” adapted by I.I. Gracheva; “Perfectionism questionnaire” (N.G. Garanyan, A.B. Kholmogorova, T.Yu. Yudeeva); “Parental attitude questionnaire” (A.Ya. Varga, V.V. Stolin). The methods that were identified for children: MD-grid by H.D. Schmalt (motivation test for children aged 9-11 adapted by N.V. Afanasyeva); Sports motivation scale “Why I do sports” (based on the L. Pelletier questionnaire, adapted by S.O. Skachkova). <strong>Results.</strong> Links have been found between the amotivation of primary school-age children in professional sports and their mothers' preoccupation with assessments from others, fixation on their own imperfections, and perfectionism focused on others. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>It has been shown that fear of failure, hope for success, amotivation, and extrinsic motivation in child athletes are associated with certain indicators of maternal perfectionism.</p>