Intrinsic Motivation Mediates the Association Between Exercise-Associated Affect and Physical Activity Among Adolescents

Margaret Schneider, Margaret Schneider

Abstract

American adolescents overwhelmingly engage in insufficient physical activity (PA). Attention has turned to the role of affect in shaping PA, raising questions as to whether the impact of affect on PA is direct/automatic or cognitively mediated ("Type 1" or "Type 2" in the dual-process model). This study examines whether intrinsic motivation (IM) mediates the association between affect and PA. Adolescents (N = 142, 48% Male, 20% non-Latino White, mean age = 11.04 years, mean VO2 = 37.19 ml/kg/min, mean BMI = 63.19) completed assessments of cardiorespiratory fitness, affective response to exercise on a stationary cycle, IM, preferred exercise intensity, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA; ActiGraph). Fitness, exercise intensity and MVPA assessments were repeated 5 months later. Tests for mediation showed that affect predicted PA at baseline and 5 months, and IM mediated the relationship between affect and PA both cross-sectionally (CI = 0.03, 0.17) and longitudinally (CI = 0.04, 0.18). Results suggest a cognitively mediated pathway from affect to behavior. Adolescent PA may be increased either by enhancing IM or by tailoring interventions to accommodate individuals with a predisposition to respond to exercise with negative affect. This study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (ID # NCT01876602).

Keywords: affect; dual-process; enjoyment; health promotion; youth.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Illustration of the mediation hypothesis.

References

    1. Backhouse S. H., Ekkekakis P., Bidle S. J., Foskett A., Williams C. (2007). Exercise makes people feel better but people are inactive: paradox or artifact? J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 29 498–517. 10.1123/jsep.29.4.498
    1. Baumeister R. F., Vohs K. D., DeWall C. N., Zhang L. (2007). How emotion shapes behavior: feedback, anticipation, and reflection, rather than direct causation. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev. 11 167–203. 10.1177/1088868307301033
    1. Booth F. W., Roberts C. K., Laye M. J. (2012). Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Compr. Physiol. 2 1143–1211. 10.1002/cphy.c110025
    1. Borg G. (1998). Borg’s Perceived Exertion and Pain Scales. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
    1. Butryn M. L., Arigo D., Raggio G. A., Kaufman A. I., Kerrigan S. G., Forman E. M. (2015). Measuring the ability to tolerate activity-related discomfort: initial validation of the physical activity acceptance questionnaire (PAAQ). J. Phys. Act. Health 12 717–726. 10.1123/jpah.2013-0338
    1. Butryn M. L., Kerrigan S., Arigo D., Raggio G., Forman E. M. (2016). Pilot test of an acceptance-based behavioral intervention to promote physical activity during weight loss maintenance. Behav. Med. 44 77–87. 10.1080/08964289.2016.1170663
    1. Carroll-Scott A., Gilstad-Hayden K., Rosenthal L., Peters S. M., McCaslin C., Joyce R., et al. (2013). Disentangling neighborhood contextual associations with child body mass index, diet, and physical activity: the role of built, socioeconomic, and social environments. Soc. Sci. Med. 95 106–114. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.003
    1. Castelli D., Glowacki E., Barcelona J., Calvert H., Hwang J. (2015). Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance. San Diego, CA: Active Living Research.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1996). Physical Activity and Health; A Report of the Surgeon General. Washington, DC: USDHHS.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012). BMI Percentile Calculator for Child and Teen English Version. Available at:
    1. Cote-Lussier C., Mathieu M. E., Barnett T. A. (2015). Independent associations between child and parent perceived neighborhood safety, child screen time, physical activity and BMI: a structural equation modeling approach. Int. J. Obes. 39 1475–1481. 10.1038/ijo.2015.98
    1. Custers R., Aarts H. (2005). Positive affect as implicit motivator: on the nonconscious operation of behavioral goals. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 89 129–142. 10.1037/0022-3514.89.2.129
    1. Deci E. L., Ryan R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum; 10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7
    1. Dumith S. C., Gigante D. P., Domingues M. R., Kohl H. W., III (2011). Physical activity change during adolescence: a systematic review and a pooled analysis. Int. J. Epidemiol. 40 685–698. 10.1093/ije/dyq272
    1. Eaton D. K., Kann L., Kinchen S., Shanklin S., Ross J., Hawkins J., et al. (2008). Youth risk behavior surveillance–United States, 2007. MMWR Surveill. Summ. 57 1–131.
    1. Ekelund U., Ward H. A., Norat T., Luan J., May A. M., Weiderpass E., et al. (2015). Physical activity and all-cause mortality across levels of overall and abdominal adiposity in European men and women: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study (EPIC). Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 101 613–621. 10.3945/ajcn.114.100065
    1. Ekkekakis P., Dafermos M. (2012). “Exercise is a many-splendored thing but for some it does not feel so splendid: staging a resurgence of hedonistic ideas in the quest to understand exercise behavior,” in Oxford Handbook of Exercise Psychology ed. Acevedo E. O. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press; ).
    1. Ekkekakis P., Hall E. E., Petruzzello S. J. (2005). Variation and homogeneity in affective responses to physical activity of varying intensities: an alternative perspective on dose-response based on evolutionary considerations. J. Sports Sci. 23 477–500. 10.1080/02640410400021492
    1. Ekkekakis P., Hall E. E., Petruzzello S. J. (2008). The relationship between exercise intensity and affective responses demystified: to crack the 40-year-old nut, replace the 40-year-old nutcracker! Ann. Behav. Med. 35 136–149. 10.1007/s12160-008-9025-z
    1. Ekkekakis P., Parfitt G., Petruzzello S. J. (2011). The pleasure and displeasure people feel when they exercise at different intensities decennial update and progress towards a tripartite rationale for exercise intensity prescription. Sports Med. 41 641–671. 10.2165/11590680-000000000-00000
    1. Elgar F. J., Pfortner T. K., Moor I., De Clercq B., Stevens G. W., Currie C. (2015). Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health 2002-2010: a time-series analysis of 34 countries participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. Lancet 385 2088–2095. 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61460-4
    1. Fakhouri T. H., Hughes J. P., Burt V. L., Song M., Fulton J. E., Ogden C. L. (2014). Physical activity in U.S. youth aged 12-15 years, 2012. NCHS Data Brief 141 1–8.
    1. Freedson P. S., Melanson E., Sirard J. (1998). Calibration of the computer science and applications, Inc. accelerometer. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 30 777–781. 10.1097/00005768-199805000-00021
    1. Gahche J., Fakhouri T., Carroll D. D., Burt V. L., Wang C. Y., Fulton J. E. (2014). Cardiorespiratory fitness levels among U.S. youth aged 12-15 years: united States, 1999-2004 and 2012. NCHS Data Brief 153 1–8.
    1. Hardy C. J., Rejeski W. J. (1989). Not what, but how one feels: the measurement of affect during exercise. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 11 304–317. 10.1016/j.appet.2008.09.004
    1. Kann L., McManus T., Harris W. A., Shanklin S. L., Flint K. H., Hawkins J., et al. (2016). Youth risk behavior surveillance - united states, 2015. MMWR Surveill. Summ. 65 1–174. 10.15585/mmwr.ss6506a1
    1. Karageorghis C. I., Terry P. C., Lane A. M., Bishop D. T., Priest D. L. (2012). The BASES expert statement on use of music in exercise. J. Sports Sci. 30 953–956. 10.1080/02640414.2012.676665
    1. Mullan E., Markland D., Ingledew D. K. (1997). A graded conceptualisation of self-determination in the regulation of exercise behaviour: development of a measure using confirmatory factor analytic procedures. Pers. Individ. Differ. 23 745–752. 10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00107-4
    1. Nasuti G., Rhodes R. E. (2013). Affective judgment and physical activity in youth: review and meta-analyses. Ann. Behav. Med. 45 357–376. 10.1007/s12160-012-9462-6
    1. National Physical Activity Plan Alliance. (2016). The 2016 United States Report on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. Available at:
    1. Owen K. B., Smith J., Lubans D. R., Ng J. Y. Y., Lonsdale C. (2014). Self-determined motivation and physical activity in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Prev. Med. 67 270–279. 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.07.033
    1. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. (2008). Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
    1. Preacher K. J., Hayes A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behav. Res. Methods Instrum. Comput. 36 717–731. 10.3758/BF03206553
    1. Preacher K. J., Kelley K. (2011). Effect size measures for mediation models: quantitative strategies for communicating indirect effects. Psychol. Methods 16 93–115. 10.1037/a0022658
    1. Rhodes R. E., Fiala B., Conner M. (2009). A review and meta-analysis of affective judgments and physical activity in adult populations. Ann. Behav. Med. 38 180–204. 10.1007/s12160-009-9147-y
    1. Rhodes R. E., Kates A. (2015). Can the affective response to exercise predict future motives and physical activity behavior? a systematic review of published evidence. Ann. Behav. Med. 49 715–731. 10.1007/s12160-015-9704-5
    1. Russell J. A., Barrett L. F. (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: dissecting the elephant. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 76 805–819. 10.1037/0022-3514.76.5.805
    1. Ryan R. M., Deci E. L. (2017). Self-Determination theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
    1. Sallis J. F., Cervero R. B., Ascher W., Henderson K. A., Kraft M. K., Kerr J. (2006). An ecological approach to creating active living communities. Annu. Rev. Public Health 27 297–322. 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102100
    1. Schneider M. (2014). Process evaluation and proximal impact of an affect-based exercise intervention among adolescents. Trans. Behav. Med. 4 190–200. 10.1007/s13142-013-0249-5
    1. Schneider M., Dunn A., Cooper D. (2009). Affect, exercise, and physical activity among healthy adolescents. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 31 706–723. 10.1123/jsep.31.6.706
    1. Schneider M., Graham D. (2009). Personality, physical fitness, and affective response to exercise among adolescents. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 41 947–955. 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31818de009
    1. Schneider M., Kwan B. (2013). Psychological need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and affective response to exercise in adolescents. Psychol. Sport Exerc. 14 776–785. 10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.04.005
    1. Schneider M., Schmalbach P. (2014). Affective response to exercise and preferred exercise intensity among adolescents. J. Phys. Act. Health 12 546–552. 10.1123/jpah.2013-0442
    1. Schneider M., Schmalbach P., Godkin S. (2016). Impact of a personalized versus moderate-intensity exercise prescription: a randomized controlled trial. J. Behav. Med. 40 239–248. 10.1007/s10865-016-9776-0
    1. Schubert M. M., Hall S., Leveritt M., Grant G., Sabapathy S., Desbrow B. (2014). Caffeine consumption around an exercise bout: effects on energy expenditure, energy intake, and exercise enjoyment. J. Appl. Physiol. 117 745–754. 10.1152/japplphysiol.00570.2014
    1. Schutte N. M., Nederend I., Hudziak J. J., Bartels M., de Geus E. J. C. (2017). Heritability of the affective response to exercise and its correlation to exercise behavior. Psychol. Sport Exerc. 31 139–148. 10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.12.001
    1. Thompson Coon J., Boddy K., Stein K., Whear R., Barton J., Depledge M. H. (2011). Does participating in physical activity in outdoor natural environments have a greater effect on physical and mental wellbeing than physical activity indoors? A systematic review. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 1761–1772. 10.1021/es102947t
    1. Trost S. G., McIver K. L., Pate R. R. (2005). Conducting accelerometer-based activity assessments in field-based research. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 37(Suppl. 11) S531–S543. 10.1249/01.mss.0000185657.86065.98
    1. USDHHS. (2012). Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-Course Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth. Washington, DC: USDHHS.
    1. Welk G. J., Laurson K. R., Eisenmann J. C., Cureton K. J. (2011). Development of youth aerobic-capacity standards using receiver operating characteristic curves. Am. J. Prev. Med. 41(4 Suppl. 2) S111–S116. 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.07.007
    1. Whipp B. J., Davis J. A., Torres F., Wasserman K. (1981). A test to determine parameters of aerobic function during exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 50 217–221. 10.1152/jappl.1981.50.1.217
    1. Whitt-Glover M. C., Taylor W. C., Floyd M. F., Yore M. M., Yancey A. K., Matthews C. E. (2009). Disparities in physical activity and sedentary behaviors among US children and adolescents: prevalence, correlates, and intervention implications. J. Public Health Policy 30(Suppl. 1) S309–S334. 10.1057/jphp.2008.46
    1. Williams D. M. (2008). Exercise, affect, and adherence: an integrated model and a case for self-paced exercise. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 30 471–496. 10.1123/jsep.30.5.471
    1. Williams D. M., Evans D. R. (2014). Current emotion research in health behavior science. Emot. Rev. 6 282–292. 10.1177/1754073914523052
    1. Young D., Saksvig B. I., Wu T. T., Zook K., Li X., Champaloux S., et al. (2014). Multilevel correlates of physical activity for early, mid, and late adolescent girls. J. Phys. Act. Health 11 950–960. 10.1123/jpah.2012-0192

Source: PubMed

Sponsoren und Mitarbeiter

Krankheiten

Drogeninterventionen

3
Abonnieren