Peer-Mentoring and Motivational Regulation in Colombian Youth Swimmers

Motivational Regulation After an Eight-Session Peer-Mentoring Programme in Colombian Youth Swimmers: A Pre-Post Pilot Study

This completed single-group study evaluated regulation-specific motivational changes in Colombian youth swimmers who participated in an sixteen-session peer-mentoring programme. Twenty-nine swimmers completed the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS-28) before the programme and immediately after the sixteen session. The programme consisted of eight weekly group sessions integrated into regular swimming training and included communication activities, athlete narratives, goal setting, reflection on competition experiences, future-self activities and group discussion. The study examined changes across the seven original SMS-28 motivational regulations.

The intervention comprised sixteen weekly face-to-face group peer-mentoring sessions of approximately 20-25 minutes integrated into regular swimming training. An experienced swimmer acted as the peer mentor. Session content included programme introduction and baseline assessment, effective communication, sport stories, SMART goal setting, reflection on competition experiences, a "pool of life" reflective activity, a future-self interview, and a career timeline and programme closure. The SMS-28 was administered before the first session and during the eighth session.

The completed dataset comprised 29 swimmers with paired pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Seven motivational regulations were examined separately: intrinsic motivation to know, intrinsic motivation to accomplish, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, external regulation and amotivation.

This study was registered retrospectively after completion of participant enrolment, data collection and analysis. Registration was undertaken for research transparency and should not be interpreted as prospective registration or preregistration.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Active competitive swimmer from the participating swimming club.
• Originally intended age range of 11-14 years.
• At least six months of competitive swimming training.
• Parent or legal guardian provided written informed consent.
• Participant provided written assent.
• Participation in more than 80% of the mentoring sessions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Absence of either the pre-intervention or post-intervention SMS-28 assessment.