Sport motivation is associated with lower aggression via emotional intelligence and self-control: A serial mediation study in undergraduates

Lili WangJiankang Jia^*Yucheng Jiang

• Shihezi University, Shihezi, China

Background: Whether sport engagement is associated with lower aggression remains contested. Less is known about how sport motivation, that is, reasons for engaging in sport, relates to aggression via emotion-and self-regulatory resources. These psychological pathways are rarely examined within a unified framework. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, 485 students (18–25 years) from a public university completed validated Chinese versions of the Sport Motivation Scale II, the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Self-Control Scale, and the Brief Aggression Questionnaire. Mediation was tested using Hayes ' PROCESS (Model 6; serial mediation with EI → SC) with percentile bootstrapping (5,000 resamples), controlling for sex and age. Results: Sport motivation was negatively associated with aggressive behavior (total effect: B = − 0.267, 95% CI [−0.342, −0.193]; β = −0.303). When emotional intelligence and self-control were included, the direct association remained significant (B = −0.115, 95% CI [−0.188, −0.042]; β = − 0.131). Indirect effects were significant via emotional intelligence (B = −0.068, 95% CI [−0.109, − 0.030]), via self-control (B = −0.038, 95% CI [−0.070, −0.008]), and through emotional intelligence then self-control (serial indirect: B = −0.047, 95% CI [−0.071, −0.028]). Indirect pathways accounted for 56.87% of the total association. Sensitivity analyses using alternative operationalizations of sport motivation (SMS-II subscales and autonomous/controlled indices), EI branches, and self-control facets yielded consistent inferences for the serial indirect effect; the direction reversed for raw-scored amotivation. Conclusions: In this undergraduate sample, sport motivation was associated with lower aggression partly via a hypothesized serial indirect association through emotional intelligence and self-control (EI →SC), even after adjusting for sex and age and across alternative operationalizations of sport motivation. Given the cross-sectional self-report design, the findings should be interpreted as associational; longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to test temporal ordering and causal mechanisms.