Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion
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| Language: | English |
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The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
2014
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu1400837236 |
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oai_dc |
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NDLTD |
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English |
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NDLTD |
| topic |
Health Sciences Psychology Behavioral Psychology Behavioral Sciences Exercise physical activity self-compassion body image body appreciation motivation self-determination theory middle-aged women behavior change positive psychology health psychology |
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Health Sciences Psychology Behavioral Psychology Behavioral Sciences Exercise physical activity self-compassion body image body appreciation motivation self-determination theory middle-aged women behavior change positive psychology health psychology Thall, Michelle S. Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion |
| author |
Thall, Michelle S. |
| author_facet |
Thall, Michelle S. |
| author_sort |
Thall, Michelle S. |
| title |
Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion |
| title_short |
Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion |
| title_full |
Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion |
| title_fullStr |
Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion |
| title_sort |
exercise & physical activity in middle-aged women: the role of self-compassion |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236 |
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AT thallmichelles exercisephysicalactivityinmiddleagedwomentheroleofselfcompassion |
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1719436510952947712 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu14008372362021-08-03T06:25:03Z Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion Thall, Michelle S. Health Sciences Psychology Behavioral Psychology Behavioral Sciences Exercise physical activity self-compassion body image body appreciation motivation self-determination theory middle-aged women behavior change positive psychology health psychology Americans do not engage in sufficient physical activity and exercise (PA/Ex). PA/Ex declines with age and women are less active than men. Research suggests a focus on immediate benefits of PA/Ex may increase PA/Ex motivation. Self-compassion, a psychological construct comprised of self-kindness, mindfulness and common humanity, is correlated with several indicators of acute positive affect. In the last four years, 10 published studies have explored the relationship between self-compassion, body image and exercise in youth or young-adult populations. This study’s purpose was to contribute to such research by investigating self-compassion’s influence on body image, exercise motivation and PA/Ex in middle-aged women. Women were eligible for this study if they were 35-60 years of age, not pregnant (or within one year postpartum), and able to be physically active.Participants were recruited from the ResearchMatch database and completed a survey developed using Qualtrics Research Suite. In September 2013, 1,303 participants accessed the on-line survey. After allowing for individuals who did not consent to take the survey, data errors, and treatment for missing values and outliers, 1,213 complete cases were available for data analysis. Of these, 1,122 non-African American participants were initially analyzed as the literature indicated African American women may differ significantly from other ethnic groups in perceptions of body image. Average age and BMI of the1,122 women participants were 48, and 28 kg/m2, respectively. Seventy-one percent of the participants met or exceeded the 150-minute recommended level of moderate aerobic activity per week, as compared to 50% of women aged 35-64 in the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted within structural equation modeling (SEM) using LISREL indicated appearance evaluation, health/fitness evaluation, health/fitness orientation, and body appreciation were significant dimensions of body image (p < .001, in all cases), while amotivation, extrinsic motivation, identified motivation, and intrinsic motivation were significant aspects of exercise motivation (p < .001, in all cases) Appearance orientation and introjected motivation were not significant dimensions of body image (p = .136) and exercise motivation (p = .646), respectively. The final structural equation model indicated that in this population of middle-aged women, self-compassion positively predicts body image, which in turn predicts autonomous exercise motivation and consequently, higher levels of PA/Ex participation (SRMR = .05, and GFI = .952). Further, contrary to hypotheses based upon the literature, Body Mass Index (BMI) and age were not significant predictors of PA/Ex participation in this sample of women, though BMI and age were both significantly and positively correlated with self-compassion levels. In depth analysis of the relationship between self-compassion and body image suggests self-compassion might be viable as a coping mechanism to relieve negative repercussions of poor body image, encourage body appreciation and ultimately lead to increases in PA/Ex levels in the population of middle-aged women. Future research should focus on examining commonalities between self-compassion and distinct aspects of body image and how increases in levels of self-compassion and body appreciation can increase the likelihood that middle-aged women will autonomously adopt and maintain more active lifestyles. 2014-11-14 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center. |