Abstract
Objective: Motivation seems to be a fundamental indicator of long-term physical exercise adherence. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) argues that social environment plays a central role in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, which might directly affect the quality of one's motivation. Individuals who appear to be more self-determined tend to persist longer at certain behaviors. Therefore, this body of work intends to analyze the relationship between motivational variables and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, having as theoretical background the Self-Determination Theory.Methods: This systematic review was conducted through an electronic search on Web of Science, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO. Data such as instruments, main predictors and results were collected from studies published between 1985 and 2018. A total of 35 empirical studies were considered for a detailed analysis.Results: Results showed the relevance of autonomy support performed by exercise professionals, as well as the major contribution that these behaviors have toward the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, besides the inherent benefits of developing more autonomous regulations. According to the literature, few studies have analyzed interpersonal thwarting behavior and the way this relates to basic psychological needs' frustration. Nether less, there seems to be a negative relationship between less self-determined regulations and exercise practice.Conclusion: Despite the existence of numerous cross-sectional studies that demonstrate positive correlations between SDT and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, longitudinal research that analyzes all six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors and their relationship with persistence and adherence to exercise proves to be crucial. However, according to this review, interventions based on SDT appear to be fundamental when it comes to promote the maintenance of a long-term exercise practice.
Highlights
Physical inactivity is currently one of the largest changeable risk behaviors, being the fourth largest risk factor contributing to death (World Health Organization, 2017)
In another study (Silva et al, 2010) based on SelfDetermination Theory (SDT), conducted in order to analyze exercise frequency, researchers observed that the target group of intervention demonstrated higher levels of persistence and lower fat mass percentage. These findings suggest that SDT framework can be effective in the internalization of exercise practice, facilitating the persistence and adherence to the behavior
This review presents the most current evidence for understanding SDT in exercise context and how this motivational construct appears to promote persistence and adherence to longterm practice
Summary
Physical inactivity is currently one of the largest changeable risk behaviors, being the fourth largest risk factor contributing to death (World Health Organization, 2017). Caudwell and Keatley (2016) argue that both motives are associated to the psychological state of amotivation, meaning that the person does not feel motivated or lacks of intention to exercise. These high percentages of physical inactivity may be linked to health professionals’ (i.e., exercise professionals) behaviors, who use overly forced and commercial approaches, perceiving people only as clients and ignoring their human component (Teixeira et al, 2012; Santos et al, 2016). The social environment works as a source of personal fulfillment, contributing to enhance one’s motivation quality and playing a fundamental role in the maintenance of physical activity practice (Hagger and Chatzisarantis, 2008)
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