ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2025
Enhancing children's motivation and enjoyment in playing games: the impact of multi-set game structures in handball-based activities.
Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: In training sessions or physical education units, the outcome of competitive games-winning or losing-directly affects the enjoyment of the game and children's perception of competence. Sports games are typically structured as single-set games with fixed playing times and cumulative results (e.g., handball, basketball) or as multi-set games with independently scored sets (e.g., volleyball, tennis). Multi-set structures allow for the possibility that winning individual sets, even in an overall defeat, can positively influence perceived skills and enjoyment. This exploratory study investigates whether changing the structure of a handball game (single-set into multi-set) influences children's enjoyment and motivation to play game again. Method: A 2 × 2 design was employed to evaluate the effects of game structure (single-set vs. multi-set) and match outcome (win vs. loss) on enjoyment and motivation. The participating children ( Results: While the effects of winning and losing were similar in both game structures, playing in a three-set structure had a positive impact on overall enjoyment and more participants felt motivated to play the game again. Discussion: The results suggest a positive effect of playing in multi-set structures. Thus, we recommend structure modifications for conducting small-sided games in team sports like handball in children's competitions, training or physical education settings. However, further research on changes in playing structures is warranted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.