The Associations between Self-Determined Motivation, Multidimensional Self-Efficacy, and Device-Measured Physical Activity

I-Hua Chu,Wen-Lan Wu,Pei-Tzu Wu,Yu-Ling Chen,Lan-Yuen Guo

doi:10.3390/ijerph18158002

Abstract

Self-determined motivation (SDT) and self-efficacy theory have been widely used for understanding individuals’ physical activity motivation and self-efficacy. However, there is a gap of evidence on the relations between SDT and multidimensional self-efficacy with device-measured physical activity in healthy adults. Questionnaires including the behavior regulation in exercise questionnaire version 2 (BREQ-2) and the multidimensional self-efficacy for exercise scale (MSES) were completed by the participants at baseline. All participants wore an accelerometer for seven days to record their physical activities at baseline and eight-week follow up. In total, thirty healthy adults completed the study (12 men, 18 women). The results showed that intrinsic motivation and scheduling self-efficacy had significantly positive associations with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity energy expenditure and duration. Multiple regression analysis showed that the relative autonomy index, task and scheduling efficacy could predict physical activity at baseline, but no SDT or self-efficacy variable could predict physical activity behavior after eight weeks. These results showed that the associations between motivation and self-efficacy with physical activity might change within a short period of time, which suggests that the regular assessment of motivation and self-efficacy might be needed in interventional programs to promote continued physical activity participation in healthy adults.

Highlights

Physical inactivity has been found to be associated with several non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and colon cancer worldwide [1]
The Relationship between Self-Determined Motivation and Physical Activity. This present study found that intrinsic motivation was the only Self-determined motivation (SDT) variable that significantly correlated with physical activity behavior
The current study found that only scheduling self-efficacy was consistently and significantly correlated with the device-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) energy expenditure at baseline and follow up

Summary

Introduction

Physical inactivity has been found to be associated with several non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and colon cancer worldwide [1]. The recent evidence showed that participating in a higher level of physical activity was associated with a reduced risk of premature mortality in adults [2]. Lower to moderate intensity of physical activity was found to help reduce the symptom of depression in women [3]. World Health Organization (WHO) recently updated its guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior, and recommended adults aged 18–64 to participate at least 150 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week in order to achieve health benefits [4]. The prevalence of physical inactivity remains high in the worldwide population, with 23% of adults not meeting the WHO physical activity guidelines, and the percentage could rise to as high as 80% in some countries [5]. While physical inactivity is garnering more attention as a global public health issue, an increasing amount of physical

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