Despite considerable clinical interest, attempts to link perceived self-efficacy with successful weight control have had mixed success. Definitive data on prospective associations between self-efficacy and weight loss are particularly sparse. This study examined relationships between self-efficacy beliefs, weight control behaviors, and weight change among individuals participating in a weight loss trial (N = 349, 87% women). Cross-sectionally, eating and exercise self-efficacy beliefs were strongly associated with corresponding weight loss behaviors. Self-efficacy beliefs prospectively predicted weight control behavior and weight change during active treatment but not during follow-up. Mediational models indicate that people's weight control behaviors mediate the impact of self-efficacy on weight change.

Using data from smokers (N = 591) who enrolled in an 8-week smoking cessation program and were then followed for 15 months, the authors tested the thesis that self-efficacy guides the decision to initiate smoking cessation but that satisfaction with the outcomes afforded by quitting guides the decision to maintain cessation. Measures of self-efficacy and satisfaction assessed at the end of the program, 2 months, and 9 months were used to predict quit status at 2, 9, and 15 months, respectively. At each point, participants were categorized as either initiators or maintainers on the basis of their pattern of cessation behavior. Across time, self-efficacy predicted future quit status for initiators, whereas satisfaction generally predicted future quit status for maintainers. Implications for models of behavior change and behavioral interventions are discussed.

No abstract

Mindfulness is defined as bringing one's attention to present-moment experience with acceptance, and is associated with engagement in various health behaviours. To synthesise and evaluate this literature, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analytic review and examined (a) the associations between trait mindfulness and health behaviours and (b) the extent to which these associations were moderated by study and individual differences. A total of 125 independent samples were included (N = 31,697, median male percentage = 38.8%, median age = 28.3). A multilevel random-effects model was used to estimate summary study-level effect sizes, and multilevel mixed-effects models were used to examine moderator effects. Mindfulness had a positive and small association with aggregated health behaviours (r = .08). Mindfulness was positively associated with physical activity, healthy eating, and sleep (rs = .08-.14), and negatively associated with alcohol use (r = −.06). Effects were larger for health promoting behaviours, the acting with awareness facet of mindfulness, and samples involving psychiatric patients. Although findings indicate that individual differences in trait mindfulness do not reliably translate into a pattern of healthful behaviours in general, trait mindfulness shows a stronger associations with health behaviours under certain conditions.

The literature on affective determinants of physical activity (PA) is growing rapidly. The present paper aims to provide greater clarity regarding the definition and distinctions among the various affect-related constructs that have been examined in relation to PA. Affective constructs are organized according to the Affect and Health Behavior Framework (AHBF), including: (1) affective response (e.g., how one feels in response to PA behavior) to PA; (2) incidental affect (e.g., how one feels throughout the day, unrelated to the target behavior); (3) affect processing (e.g., affective associations, implicit attitudes, remembered affect, anticipated affective response, and affective judgments); and (4) affectively charged motivational states (e.g., intrinsic motivation, fear, and hedonic motivation). After defining each category of affective construct, we provide examples of relevant research showing how each construct may relate to PA behavior. We conclude each section with a discussion of future directions for research.

No abstract

Two-part models represent a flexible and useful addition to the analysis repertoire of health researchers. To assist researchers in learning these methods, the online supplemental materials provide additional technical information as well as annotated computer code for estimating these models. (PsycINFO Database Record

Satisfaction with physical activity is known to be an important factor in physical activity maintenance, but the factors that influence satisfaction are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to elucidate how ongoing experiences with recently initiated physical activity are associated with satisfaction. Participants (n = 116) included insufficiently active volunteers who initiated a self-directed physical activity regimen and completed daily diaries about their experiences for 28 days. We used multilevel models to examine the associations between experiences with physical activity and satisfaction. Significant between-person effects demonstrated that people reporting higher average levels of positive experiences and lower levels of thinking about the negative aspects of exercise were more likely to report higher levels of satisfaction (ps < .05). Positive experiences and perceived progress toward goals had significant within-person effects (ps < .01), suggesting that day-to-day fluctuations in these experiences were associated with changes in satisfaction. These findings elucidate a process through which people may determine their satisfaction with physical activity.