«Perceived Constraints on Extracurricular Sports Recreation Activities Among Middle and High- School Students in Katerini City»

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of participation constraints on extracurricular recreational sports, among middle and high-school students, living in Katerini city – Greece and the potential differences: i) Between high-school students aged 15 to 18 and middleschool students, aged 12 to 14 years old. ii) Between male and female students. iii) Between students living in different areas. The sample consisted of 579 students (47.8% % males, 52.2% females). An adapted version of the Alexandris & Carrol questionnaire (1997 a,b) was used in measuring the recreational sport participation constraints. The indices of internal consistency in all dimensions were satisfactory (Cronbachs΄ a>.70). The t-test results revealed that: a) the majority of high school students aged 15 to 18 recorded statistically significant higher scores in all constraint factors than middle school students aged 12 to 14, b) the majority of female students recorded statistically significant higher scores in all constraint factors, compared with male students. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the majority of students living in rural areas, experienced greater participation barriers in leisure activities, compared with students from other residential areas. The regression analysis revealed that Intrapersonal and structural constraint factors contribute to the prediction of the student’s intention to participate in recreational sport activities (R=.069, F=6.00, p<.001). The outcomes of this study could lead to the direction of increasing the student’s participation in extracurricular sport activities.