Longitudinal associations between exercise identity and exercise motivation: A multilevel growth curve model approach.

Past work linking exercise identity and exercise motivation has been cross-sectional. This is the first study to model the relations between different types of exercise identity and exercise motivation longitudinally. Understanding the dynamic associations between these sets of variables has implications for theory development and applied research. This was a longitudinal survey study. Participants were 180 exercisers (79 men, 101 women) from Greece, who were recruited from fitness centers and were asked to complete questionnaires assessing exercise identity (exercise beliefs and role-identity) and exercise motivation (intrinsic, identified, introjected, external motivation, and amotivation) three times within a 6 month period. Multilevel growth curve modeling examined the role of motivational regulations as within- and between-level predictors of exercise identity, and a model in which exercise identity predicted exercise motivation at the within- and between-person levels. Results showed that within-person changes in intrinsic motivation, introjected, and identified regulations were positively and reciprocally related to within-person changes in exercise beliefs; intrinsic motivation was also a positive predictor of within-person changes in role-identity but not vice versa. Between-person differences in the means of predictor variables were predictive of initial levels and average rates of change in the outcome variables. The findings show support to the proposition that a strong exercise identity (particularly exercise beliefs) can foster motivation for behaviors that reinforce this identity. We also demonstrate that such relations can be reciprocal overtime and can depend on the type of motivation in question as well as between-person differences in absolute levels of these variables.

The mediating role of exercise identity in the relationship of exercise motivational regulations with strenuous, moderate and mild exercise.

AIM: The present study examined the mediating role of exercise identity in the relationship of exercise motivational regulations with weekly frequency of strenuous, moderate, and mild exercise. METHODS: Data were collected from a sample of 193 Greek exercise participants aged 18-54, using the Revised Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2, the Exercise Identity Scale, and the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed that the main predictor of strenuous exercise was integrated regulation. This association was partially mediated by exercise role identity. Moderate exercise was mainly predicted by intrinsic motivation and external regulation, but no mediation by exercise identity was evident. Mild exercise was not predicted by any type of behavioral regulation. CONCLUSION: The relationship of integrated regulation with strenuous exercise behavior is partially mediated by the role identity component of exercise identity. No mediation is evident for moderate and mild exercise.

A prospective study of the relationships of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with exercise attendance, adherence, and dropout.

AIM: Given the need to investigate determinants of exercise behavior, the study examined the relationship of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness with exercise attendance and adherence/dropout in organized exercise programs over 6 months. A secondary purpose was to further determine the predictive validity of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) responses. METHODS: A prospective design was utilized where 108 male exercise participants (mean age: 27.38 years) and 120 females (mean age: 27.79 years) completed the BPNES before an exercise class. Six months later, the total number of their visits to the fitness center over the 6-month period was assessed, as well as whether they still attended. RESULTS: Latent variable structural equation modeling demonstrated that it was only the need for competence that significantly predicted exercise attendance and this was the case for both male and female participants, simultaneously. Further, a binary logistic regression demonstrated that only the need for competence predicted group membership among participants who were categorized either as adherers or dropouts. CONCLUSION: The need for competence emerged as the main predictor of levels of exercise attendance and of exercise adherence/dropout group membership. Moreover, the findings further supported and broadened the validity evidence base of the BPNES responses.

Motives for exercise participation as predictors of exercise dependence among endurance athletes.

BACKGROUND: To investigate whether motives for exercise participation predicted exercise dependence (ED) among endurance athletes. The rationale for the study centred upon a test of the affect regulation model utilising constructs that form part of the Self-Determination Theory as predictors of ED. It was hypothesised that non self-determined motivation, specifically external regulation, would be predictive of ED. DESIGN: correlational design, with a time gap between predictor and dependent variables. SETTINGS: competitive sports environment. PARTICIPANTS: 188 competitive endurance athletes were recruited from amateur sports clubs. INTERVENTIONS: none. MEASURES: the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire was administered before a training session to measure the predictor variables (motives for exercise participation), and the Running Addiction Scale was administered before a similar training session, one week later, to measure the dependent variable (ED). RESULTS: Multiple regression analysis revealed that the strongest predictor variable of ED was introjected regulation (beta=0.29, p<0.001), followed by identified regulation (beta=0.19, p<0.05). External regulation and intrinsic motivation were weak and non-significant predictors. The total variance in ED explained by the exercise participation motives was 15% (R(2)= 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: ED was predicted by motives that did not support the tenets of the affect regulation model. Results are discussed in light of the potential influence of exercise participation motives on ED and their implications for intervention strategies and diagnosis of the ED syndrome.

Motivation profiles in sport: a self-determination theory perspective.

The present study examined the link between motivation profiles among adult sports participants and the consequences of enjoyment, effort, positive and negative affect, attitude toward sport participation, intention to continue sport participation, satisfaction, and frequency of attendance in sport. Two samples of participants (n = 590 and n = 555) completed the Sport Motivation Scale and a range of self-report measures to assess the outcome variables. Exploratory cluster analyses applied to Sample 1 and confirmatory cluster analysis applied to Sample 2 identified two clusters of sport participants. The first comprised participants with high scores on both nonself-determined and self-determined motives. The second comprised participants with high scores on self-determined motives but low scores on nonself-determined motives. Participants in the first cluster scored higher on all outcome variables. The results are discussed with reference to a more in-depth understanding of the motivation dynamics of sport participation based on Self-Determination Theory.

Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis of the Flow State Scale in exercise.

In this study, we examined the factor structure and internal consistency of the Flow State Scale using responses of exercise participants. This self-report questionnaire consists of nine subscales designed to assess flow in sport and physical activity. It was administered to 1231 aerobic dance exercise participants. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test three competing measurement models of the flow construct: a single-factor model, a nine-factor model and a hierarchical model positing a higher-order flow factor to explain the intercorrelations between the nine first-order factors. The single-factor model showed a poor fit to the data. The nine-factor model and the hierarchical model did not show an adequate fit to the data. All subscales of the Flow State Scale displayed acceptable internal consistency (alpha > 0.70), with the exception of transformation of time (alpha = 0.65). Collectively, the present results do not provide support for the tenability of the single-factor, nine-factor or hierarchical measurement models in an exercise setting.

Factor structure and internal consistency of the Greek version of the Flow State Scale.

The present study tested the internal consistency and the factor struc ture of a translated version of the Flow State Scale with Greek sport participants. Sport psychology literature is not conclusive regarding sex differences and the type of sport in flow. The sample was comprised of 144 women from interactive sports (volleyball and handball) who were drawn from the second division of the first national category. Athletes completed the scale immediately after a game. Values of Cronbach alpha were used to estimate the internal consistency of the scale and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the model. The results showed acceptable psychometric prop erties of the scale and suggest a need for improvement of the problematic items.