Impact of a Novelty-based Intervention in Physical Education on Motivation and Physical Activity of Children with ADHD

Introduction: Little is known about amount of MVPA and influential factors during physical education lesson among students with ADHD.
Objectives: Current research aimed to examine impact of a novelty-based intervention in the physical education (PE) on motivation and objectively physical activity (PA) among children with ADHD during physical education lesson.
Methods: This study applied an experimental method. Participants included 53 students with ADHD (Mage: 10.82 years) who were randomly divided to intervention or control groups. The procedure consisted of the pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was measured using accelerometer and standard questionnaires were used for measuring perceived novelty support, needs satisfaction, and motivation. Intervention program lasted for 16 weeks. Independent t test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation test were used for data analysis.
Results: results showed that students in both groups (about 10% of the class time) did not meet the guidelines of 50% MVPA in PE class. It was found that novelty-based intervention enhanced significantly motivation from pretest to posttest and follow-up. Furthermore, MVPA was significantly increased from pretest (9.67%) to posttest (20.7%) and follow-up (23.14%) in the intervention group.
Conclusions: Supporting novelty may increase the motivation and PA among children with ADHD. To do that, it can be suggested that PE teachers in special schools should consider self-determined teaching styles in PE class.