Understanding the Relationship between Self-esteem and Motor Creativity in Ecological PE Contexts at Adolescence

Background. In current studies, it is generally admitted that creativity is an important asset in performing in sports and Physical Education (PE). Based on the multivariate framework, authors have also investigated the influence of motivation, intelligence and cognitive abilities on creative motor performance. However, data surrounding self-esteem and its association with motor performance in ecological domains is scant. Objectives. This study aimed to understand the relationship between self-esteem and motor creativity, focusing on ecological motor contexts in PE at adolescence. Materials and Methods. The experiment population comprised three groups of 20 children in total (N= 60), with 31 girls and 29 boys aged 12 years old. First, self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), which demonstrated excellent internal consistency in the sample (Cronbach’s α = .94). Subsequently, participants engaged in a 20 minute ecological game task called “Sitting ball”. Rooted in the multivariate framework, the study measured motor fluency and flexibility by using praxic communication as key indicators of creativity. Once the data was gathered, a factorial analysis was put into place using the Trideux.cloud tool to establish the relationship between self-esteem and motor creativity. Results. The factorial map indicates that self-esteem levels are correlated to motor creativity scores in ecological situations. Analysis conducted at the individual level (N = 60) using a Pearson correlation calculation confirmed these results, associating self-esteem and ecological motor creativity positively with r = .734. Moreover, the findings are statistically significant as the 95% confidence intervals (CI) for self-esteem were between 21.55–25.81 and 48.43–57.90for ecological motor creativity. The intervals are sufficiently narrow to indicate good precision of the estimated means and results. Conclusions. This study revealed that creative motor abilities seem to be highly related to self-esteem. Low self-esteem levels tend to be strongly linked to weaker motor creativity performances and strong self-esteem levels relate to increased motor creativity. The present novel ecological framework underlines the pedagogical importance of assessing and understanding such intrapersonal characteristics in order to favor motor development and well-being in PE.