Acute Exercise Thoughts, Coping, and Exercise Intention in Older Adults

Abstract

Two purposes of this study were to identify the types of acute thoughts older adults experienced when making exercise decisions and the strategies used to cope with negative thoughts. The third purpose was to examine the relationships between acute thoughts, coping self‐efficacy, and the outcomes of decisional struggle and exercise intention. Participants were 117 exercising older adults (Mage= 72 years). Acute thoughts, coping strategies and self‐efficacy, decisional struggle, and intention measures were taken concurrently. Results indicate that older adults experienced both acute positive and negative thoughts. To cope with negative thoughts, participants used cognitive and behavioral strategies. Further, coping self‐efficacy significantly predicted decisional struggle and intention.