Background: There is a concerning decline in physically active behavior across adolescence. Evidence suggests that self-schemas, or cognitive representations about the self, are important motivators and regulators of physically active behavior. The relationship between physical activity and self-representation in adolescence, however, is not well understood.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of self-representations that distinguish adolescents who engage in high levels of physical activity from those who are less active.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study was a secondary analysis of data from 158 eighth grade, Midwest adolescents. Adolescents generated sets of self-descriptive words and phrases in the All About Me task, an open-ended survey designed to elicit thoughts about the self. Participants completed the task twice, once in the eighth and ninth grades. Participants completed the Child/Adolescent Activity Log, a diary-style measure of physical activity, five times across the two year study. Physical activity data were used to divide participants into two groups. Adolescents were considered physically active if they engaged in an average of 60 minutes or more of moderate-vigorous behavior each day. The content and structure of adolescent self-representations were analyzed in a four-stage process that included: (a) reading sets of adolescent self-descriptors in entirety, (b) completing a paired comparison of individual self-descriptors, (c) creating descriptive case grids, and (d) creating descriptive category matrices.

Findings: Results of this study suggested that adolescents used self-descriptors in common contextual, behavioral, and relational domains. Based on these three categories, seven patterns of self-representation that distinguished between active and not active adolescents were identified. Physically active adolescents tended to use self-descriptors explicit to organized sport. Active behavior was also associated with highly differentiated patterns of self-representation that included engagement in multiple activities, relationships, and social roles. Low levels of physical activity were associated with patterns of self-representation that included fewer domains of self-description and often one or more categories of self-description were absent.

Conclusion: There are patterns of self-representation that distinguish physically active from not active adolescents. Physically active behavior is associated with patterns of general adolescent engagement. Interventions may need to address broader issues of engagement.