Physical activity (PA) professionals and participants recognize enhanced quality of life (QoL) as a benefit of and motivator for PA. However, QoL measures are often problematic and rarely consider the participants'perspective. This paper focuses on recent findings from a larger project on the role of QoL in PA and health promotion. More specifically, we focus on the views of participants and potential participants to better understand the relationship of PA and QoL. In earlier stages of the project we began with a conceptual model of QoL and developed a survey. We now focus on participants' views and ask two questions: 1) what is QoL? and 2) how does PA relate to QoL? We first asked those questions of a large sample of university students and community participants as open-ended survey items, and then asked focus groups of community participants. Overall, participants' responses reflected the multidimensional, integrative QoL model, but the responses and patterns provided information that may not be picked up with typical survey measures. Findings suggest that PA contributes to multiple aspects of QoL, that social and emotional benefits are primary motivators and outcomes for participants, and that the meaning of QoL and PA benefits is subjective and contextualized, varying across individuals and settings. Programs that directly target and highlight the multiple dimensions and integrative QoL, while considering the individual participants and contexts, may enhance both PA motivation and participants' health and QoL.
The study was designed to determine associations between physical activity (PA) and affect before and during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and how change in PA predicted change in affect during this time. Before and during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, college students (n = 107) completed assessments of PA, positive and negative affect, sleep quality, food insecurity, and stressful life events (during stay-at-home order only). Total minutes of PA was positively associated with positive affect before (
B
= 0.01,
p
< 0.01) and during (
B
= 0.01,
p
= 0.01) COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Change in minutes of PA was positively associated with change in positive affect (
B
= 0.01,
p
= 0.01). Associations between PA and positive affect were not moderated by stressful life events. PA only predicted negative affect before COVID-19 stay-at-home orders (
B
= −0.003,
p
= 0.04). PA appears to enhance positive affect during a global pandemic. Findings have implications for PA as a tool for maintaining or enhancing mental health during a time of trauma and uncertainty.
Self-identity influences physical activity participation, and individuals who are motivated by self-determined and volitional reasons are more likely to maintain their exercise behavior. The present study incorporates tenets of identity theory and selfdetermination theory to investigate the relationships among identity, motivation, and physical activity in former college athletes. Former Division I student-athletes (N ϭ 282) completed an online survey consisting of the Exercise Identity Scale, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, the Behavioral Regulation for Exercise Questionnaire, the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire, and demographic items. Exercise identity and athletic identity were both positively related to physical activity and significantly interacted in their prediction of physical activity participation. Motivation, and specifically identified regulation, appears to have a mediating effect on the relationship between exercise identity and physical activity. The findings of this study add to our understanding of former college athletes' physical activity behavior within an identity and self-determination theory framework.
Assessment (EMA) is a real-time data capture strategy designed to repeatedly and intensively sample a phenomenon of interest in the context of everyday life. EMA approaches are increasingly being used to study human behavior in psychology, public health, and related disciplines; however, its use with competitive athletes has been somewhat limited despite its promise for answering novel questions in applied sport psychology. In this article, we provide sport psychology scholars with a practical guide for implementing EMA in research with athletes. Specifically, our purpose is to (a) provide a general overview of EMA; (b) present an empirical example to illustrate how EMA can be used to better understand the etiology and consequences of athlete behavior and performance; (c) discuss challenges of conducting EMA research with athletes; and (d) recommend strategies for designing, implementing, and reporting EMA studies. Incorporating EMA approaches in sport psychology research can promote refinement of theory and inform the development of adaptive interventions that integrate new technology and real-time personalized feedback to athletes.
Former student-athletes may face challenges in maintaining physical activity and engaging in healthy eating after transitioning out of collegiate athletics. Maladaptive adjustments following athletic transitions can result in detrimental outcomes for former student-athletes, ranging from physical health concerns to negative psychosocial consequences. In contrast, positive transitions can promote optimal health and wellbeing. The Moving On! program was developed in recognition of the unique challenges faced by student-athletes and the importance of making healthy transitions out of college sports. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Moving On! program’s influence on several relevant theoretical constructs that influence health behaviors, including student-athletes’ self-perceptions and self-determined motivation for maintaining physical activity and healthy eating, along with their self-efficacy and intentions for engaging in these health-related behaviors after college. NCAA student-athletes in their final year of competition were recruited from two institutions. Participants (N = 20) completed the Moving On! program along with pre- and post-test surveys and focus group interviews. Survey results revealed positive changes in nutrition-related self-perceptions (t(19) = 2.406; p = 0.026; g = 0.38) and self-efficacy for healthy eating behaviors (t(19) = 3.022; p = 0.007; g = 0.70). No significant changes were observed for exercise identity (p = 0.845), physical activity self-efficacy (p = 0.114), or autonomous motivation for exercise (p = 0.108) and health eating (p = 0.264). Focus group responses indicated that student-athletes’ experiences in the program fostered positive shifts in their self-perceptions, enhanced their self-determined motivation, and reinforced their intentions for engaging in physical activity and healthy eating in the future. Implications for future research and program implementation are discussed.
College athletes are at risk for heavy alcohol use, which jeopardizes their general health, academic standing, and athletic performance. Effective prevention programming reduces these risks by targeting theory-based intermediate factors that predict alcohol use while tailoring content to student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the myPlaybook online prevention program on student-athletes’ social norms, negative alcohol expectancies, and intentions to use alcohol-related harm prevention strategies. NCAA Division II student-athletes were recruited from 60 institutions across the United States to complete myPlaybook and pretest/posttest surveys measuring demographics and targeted outcome variables. Participants were randomly assigned to the treatment group (pretest-program-posttest; final n = 647) or the delayed treatment “control” group (pretest-posttest-program; final n = 709). Results revealed significant program effects on social norms (p < .01) and intentions to use harm prevention strategies (p < .01), while the effect on negative alcohol expectancies was nonsignificant (p = .14). Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
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