PurposeRecent studies have shown that perceived social support is associated with gratitude and sense of coherence, but evidence for this concept remains scarce. In the present study, we investigated relationships between social support, gratitude, and sense of coherence, focusing on the construct of and source of social support among young women.MethodsThe study was conducted in 2014 in Japan. Participants comprised 208 female university students (aged 19.9 ± 1.1 years), who completed a self-administered anonymous questionnaire regarding perceived social support, gratitude, and sense of coherence.ResultsEmotional and instrumental social support from acquaintances were found to be lower than those from family and friends. Gratitude was positively correlated with all forms of social support except instrumental social support from acquaintances. However, sense of coherence was positively correlated with both emotional and instrumental social support from family and only emotional social support from acquaintances. Multiple regression analysis showed that emotional support from family and emotional support from acquaintances were positively associated with gratitude whereas emotional support from family was associated with sense of coherence.ConclusionThese results indicate that emotional social support from family was related to both gratitude and sense of coherence.
Purpose: We investigated the purpose and the motivation for the future practice of physical activity and related factors in Japanese university students. Materials and Methods: The participants were 499 university students (407 men and 92 women). Participants were surveyed using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Questionnaire items were anthropometrics, current exercise habits, preference for exercise, existence of exercise partners, benefits of exercise, self-efficacy for exercise, and the purpose to be motivated to exercising in the future. Results: The exercise group had higher scores for preference for exercise, exercise partners, self-efficacy for exercise, and benefits of exercise than the non-exercise group. The exercise group also reported being more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future than the nonexercise group. In the exercise group, those who felt benefits of exercise were more likely to be motivated to exercise for enhancement of health, enjoyment, making friends, prevention of illness, and enhancement of competitiveness. In the non-exercise group, those who had a preference for exercise were more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future for enjoyment, prevention of illness, and enhancement of competitiveness. In both the exercise and non-exercise groups, women were markedly more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future for aesthetics. Conclusions: These results indicate that there is a difference in the purpose and the motivation for future practice of physical activity between the exercise group and the non-exercise group as well as between genders. Nakamura, H. (2019). The purpose and the motivation for future practice of physical activity and related factors in Japanese university students.
This study aimed to examine the association between muscle mass and perception of body shape, desired body shape, physical strength, exercise habits, and eating behaviors. Height, weight, and body composition in 270 female university students were measured. The questionnaire on body shape perception, desired body shape, dieting experience, current, and past exercise habits, exercise preference, and eating behaviors were administered. The analysis of covariance with body fat mass as the covariate found that the skeletal muscle index (SMI) was different among each group on each of body perception or desired body shape (all, p < 0.001). In the post hoc test on body shape perception, the SMI in “obese” was significantly more than that in “slim” (p < 0.001) and “normal” (p < 0.001). In the desired body shape, the SMI in “become thin” was more than that in “maintain as current shape” (p < 0.001). Further, a significant difference was found among the categories of diet experience, with body fat mass as the covariate. In the post hoc test, the SMI in “yes” was more than that in “no” (p < 0.001). These results indicate that not only body fat mass but skeletal muscle mass drives young females’ desire for thinness even with exercise advantages.
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