Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Relationships With Motivational Quality and Nature Contexts

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global event that has already had substantive negative impacts on psychological well-being. This study investigated the relationship between physical activity (PA) and psychological well-being during a country-wide COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. Motivational quality and PA context (nature-based or non-nature-based) were included as potential mediating and moderating variables within this relationship, respectively. Participants completed an online survey assessing psychological well-being, weekly PA levels, and PA during the second and third weeks of the 7 week COVID-19 lockdown period in New Zealand. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. Results showed that PA significantly predicted psychological well-being, with no significant difference evident in psychological well-being dependent on whether PA was nature or non-nature-based. Nature-based PA was a stronger predictor of intrinsic motivation compared to non-nature-based PA, and intrinsic motivation was positively associated with psychological well-being. In contrast, non-nature-based PA was a stronger predictor of introjected regulation compared to nature-based PA, which was negatively associated with psychological well-being. Overall, these findings suggest that (1) weekly PA was associated with increased psychological well-being during the lockdown, and (2) nature-based PA may foster psychological well-being via effects on motivation. The implications for continued participation in PA will be discussed.

Physical Activity and Well-Being during the Second COVID19-Related Lockdown in Germany in 2021

“…This is in line with the large Mannheim Corona Study [35] but in contrast to the aforementioned study in German students [33]. Investigations from the first wave of the pandemic also found positive associations between PA and well-being [36,37]. However, it is not clear to what extent results from the first wave are generalizable to the second one.…”

Nature-Based Physical Activity and Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing: The Mediating Roles of Motivational Quality and Nature Relatedness

“…Passmore and Howell (2014) also demonstrated that a 2week NPA intervention resulted in increased EWB and HWB, and in a series of survey studies, Wolsko et al (2019) found that NPA was associated with both EWB and HWB. However, other studies have found no significant difference between NPA and non-NPA with regards to EWB (e.g., Lawton et al, 2017) or HWB (e.g., Jenkins et al, 2021), respectively. While these mixed findings could be a result of different populations being sampled or different measurement tools (as suggested by Pritchard et al, 2020), it is also possible that intervening socio-psychological factors may influence the relationships between NPA and HWB and EWB, respectively.…”

“…This study utilised a cross-sectional survey design, hosted by the online survey platform Qualtrics. Participants were identified from a pool of respondents to a previous crosssectional survey study, which investigated the determinants and outcomes of physical activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (Jenkins et al, 2021). This previous study used a convenience sampling method to recruit a sample of participants across the New Zealand population via mainstream social media platforms (Akers and Gordon, 2018), email lists and newsletters for universities and other large organisations (e.g., regional and national sports organisations, city councils), and a virtual snowball recruitment technique (Baltar and Brunet, 2012).…”

“…This notion of motivational quality resulting in distinctive psychological outcomes in the context of NPA has been signalled in previous research. For example, in a cross-sectional study, Jenkins et al (2021) showed that intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between NPA and HWB, but autonomous extrinsic motivation did not (EWB was not measured in Jenkins et al's study). Thus the question remains as to whether autonomous extrinsic motivation contributes to the EWB outcomes of NPA.…”

The mediterranean diet: Healthy and sustainable dietary pattern in the time of Sars-Cov-2

“…Thanks to its benefits on mental health, physical activity may alleviate psychological disturbances related to pandemia, quarantine and social isolation. The benefits of physical activity on psychological well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown have been recently reported [39]. Therefore, whenever possible and provided that local and national COVID-19 restrictions are respected, people without any symptoms or diseases should be encouraged to exercise, preferably outdoors (walking, jogging, cycling, gardening).…”