Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs, Self-Determined Exercise Motivation, and Psychological Well-Being in Mothers Exercising in Group-Based Versus Individual-Based Contexts

Exploring the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Potential Benefits of the Mom Movement Intervention (MOMmi)

OBJECTIVE

To explore the feasibility, acceptability, and potential benefits associated with a mind-body intervention and varied delivery styles among women during the postpartum period.

DESIGN

Mixed-methods feasibility study.

SETTING

Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Forty-three women (93% White), with an average age of 32.1 (SD = 2.9) years, who had given birth within the last 6 months.

METHODS

Participants were randomized to three physical activity groups. Validated questionnaires were administered before and after the 12-week intervention. Attendance and feasibility metrics and qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted to assess the intervention.

RESULTS

The intervention and trial were partially feasible, and retention to the intervention was high; however, adherence as assessed by attendance was lower than expected. There was high acceptability among those in the group-based, in-person intervention. There was moderate acceptability among those in the individual, home-based asynchronous program.

CONCLUSION

Findings highlight the necessity of better understanding what is desired by this population or simply providing more options to participants so that we can tailor physical activity to their needs and provide the necessary support.

Physical Exercise and Undergraduate Students’ Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Roles of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Sleep Quality

This study aimed to examine the association between physical exercise and subjective well-being among undergraduate students, as well as its underlying mechanism—the potential mediating roles of basic psychological need satisfaction and sleep quality—from the perspective of self-determination theory. A sample of 770 undergraduate students (mean age was 19.90 ± 1.15 years old; 464 women) were recruited voluntarily to complete a set of measures examining physical exercise habits, psychological need satisfaction in exercise, sleep quality, and subjective well-being. The results indicated that (1) physical exercise was positively associated with undergraduate students’ subjective well-being; (2) psychological need satisfaction and sleep quality could significantly mediate this relation, which contained three pathways—the independent mediating effects of sleep quality and basic psychological need satisfaction and the sequential mediating effect of them. These findings not only reveal the mediating mechanism underlying the relation between physical exercise and subjective well-being by integrating the psychological and physical factors together but also provide an empirical basis for formulating prevention and intervention programs aimed at promoting the health and subjective well-being of undergraduate students.

Exercise in the Treatment of Addiction: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Exercise has been recognized as a promising and emerging treatment for individuals recovering from addiction. The purpose of this article was to systematically review scientific studies using exercise as a means to improve, sustain, or treat addictions, and to provide suggestions for the future use of exercise as a treatment method for addiction.

METHODS

Using PRISMA guidelines, a database search was conducted for articles that tested the impact of exercise interventions on addiction-related outcomes. To be included, peer-reviewed experimental design studies had to use human subjects to investigate the relationship between exercise and the treatment of or recovery from addiction. Garrard's Matrix Method was used to extract data from reviewed articles (n = 53).

RESULTS

Nearly three quarters of the studies reviewed documented a significant change in addiction-related outcomes (e.g., more days abstinent, reduced cravings) in response to exercise exposure, particularly while someone was receiving treatment at an in or outpatient clinic. Many studies investigated the effect of acute bouts of exercise on nicotine dependence, and many studies had small sample sizes, leaving room for future research on how exercise might benefit people recovering from substance and process addictions.

CONCLUSION

Results affirm that exercise can be a helpful aspect of addiction treatment. Future researchers should investigate different exercise settings (e.g., group-based exercise vs individual) and explore exercise maintenance and the long-term outcomes following discharge from treatment facilities.

Does Walking Reduce Postpartum Depressive Symptoms? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Rising demands for traditional postpartum depression (PPD) treatment options (e.g., psychiatry), especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, are increasingly difficult to meet. More accessible treatment options (e.g., walking) are needed. Our objective is to determine the impact of walking on PPD severity. Methods: A structured search of seven electronic databases for randomized controlled trials published between 2000 and July 29, 2021 was completed. Studies were included if walking was the sole or primary aerobic exercise modality. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted for studies reporting PPD symptoms measured using a clinically validated tool. A simple count of positive/null effect studies was undertaken as part of a narrative summary. Results: Five studies involving 242 participants were included (mean age = ∼28.9 years; 100% with mild-to-moderate depression). Interventions were 12 (n = 4) and 24 (n = 1) weeks long. Each assessed PPD severity using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and was included in the meta-analysis. The pooled effect estimate suggests that relative to controls walking yielded clinically significant decreases in mean EPDS scores from baseline to intervention end (pooled mean difference = -4.01; 95% CI: -7.18 to -0.84, I² = 86%). The narrative summary provides preliminary evidence that walking-only, supervised, and group-based interventions, including 90-120+ minutes per week of moderate-intensity walking, may produce greater EPDS reductions. Conclusions: While limited by a relatively small number of included studies, pooled effect estimates suggest that walking may help mothers manage PPD. This is the first-time walking as treatment for PPD, an exercise modality that uniquely addresses many barriers faced by mothers, has been summarized in a systematic way. Trial registration: PROSPERO (CRD42020197521) on August 16th, 2020.

Is Self-Determined Motivation a Useful Agent to Overcome Perceived Exercise Barriers in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?

Background: Devising a program to increase physical activity (PA)/exercise behavior in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can meet with limited effectiveness in real-world settings because of the variety of barriers to PA/exercise that individuals need to overcome. An alternative approach is to explore whether targeting motivation as a facilitator may be effective to increase PA/exercise. This study aimed to understand attitudes toward perceived barriers to PA/exercise by examining individual levels of motivation, grounded on self-determination theory, in patients with T2DM. Methods: This study used an integrated approach combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. Sixteen patients with T2DM were grouped (n = 8 for each group) into either a higher self-motivation (HSM) or lower self-motivation (LSM) group via the Relative Autonomy Index. Thematic and deductive analysis were used to identify attitudes based on ten preconceived barrier themes: apathy, dislike, no priority, lack of support, health problems, lack of knowledge, unfavorable environment, tiredness, lack of time, and financial constraints. Quantitative analysis was to assess statistical differences in the volume of PA/exercise across the two groups, and a mixed-methods analysis was employed to highlight unique cases. Results: Patients in the HSM group expressed positive attitudes toward barriers to PA/exercise, while patients in the LSM group expressed a greater degree of hindrance. Although regular PA/exercise is necessary for T2DM management, patients with LSM considered PA/exercise a lesser priority displaying negative attitudes such as apathy and dislike. Conversely, patients with HSM placed greater emphasis on the benefits of PA/exercise regardless of apathy and dislike. Lack of time and health problems were commonly reported in both groups. The volume of PA/exercise corresponded to motivation levels, but there were some unique cases which arose from active commuting habits and severe health problems. Conclusion: These findings provide insights on how attitudes to perceived barriers to PA/exercise differ by levels of motivation. One insight was that examining motivation should be an essential consideration when designing practical strategies to overcome PA/exercise barriers in patients with T2DM. Lack of time and health problems exist regardless of motivation levels. Future research requires a tailored approach to managing barriers to PA/exercise in patients with T2DM.

Network Analysis of the Social Environment Relative to Preference for and Tolerance of Exercise Intensity in CrossFit Gyms

Known for its ability to improve fitness and health, high-intensity functional training (HIFT) focuses on functional movements completed at high intensities, often yielding outcomes superior to repetitive aerobic workouts. Preference for and tolerance of high-intensity exercise are associated with enjoyment of and adherence to HIFT. Similarly, the social environment present within CrossFit, a popular group-based HIFT modality, is important to the enjoyment of and adherence to HIFT. This study aimed to test whether preference and tolerance were related to social connections within CrossFit networks. Linear network autocorrelation models (LNAMs) and exponential random graph models (ERGMs) were computed on sociometric and attribute data from members of three CrossFit networks (n = 197). LNAMs showed the preference and tolerance scores of someone's social connections were associated with their own in all three gyms, and ERGMs demonstrated preference and tolerance scores were associated with the presence of social ties within all networks. This study is the first to provide evidence for a relationship between social connections and preference and tolerance. Future longitudinal research is needed to determine if the social environment may influence and optimize a person's preference of and tolerance for HIFT.

Physical activity in working mothers: Running low impacts quality of life

Objectives:

The transition to motherhood is associated with declines in physical activity in women. Working mothers may be particularly at-risk for low levels of physical activity, since they have to balance the competing interests of work and family life, and exercise often takes a backseat to more seemingly pressing concerns. The potential benefits working mothers can experience from physical activity are numerous. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the percentage of working mothers from the United States who met the World Health Organization’s and the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommended guidelines for weekly physical activity and investigate the associations between physical activity, quality of life, and self-rated work productivity in this sample of working mothers.

Methods:

Participants were 334 working mothers from the United States (mean age = 35.00 years; standard deviation (SD) = 5.85; 77.8% White) recruited from a Qualtrics research panel. To be eligible to participate in the study, a woman had to be 18 years or older with at least one child aged 5 years or younger, work at least 30 h per week at a job, live with her child(ren) at least 50% of the time, and have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Participants completed the Godin leisure time exercise questionnaire, the World Health Organization—five well-being index, a single-item indicator of self-rated work productivity, and a demographic questionnaire.

Results:

Of the working mothers in the sample, 45.5% met the recommended guidelines of at least 150 min of moderate exercise in the past week. Approximately 39% of working mothers reported engaging in no 30-min bouts of strenuous exercise in the past week. Non-white working mothers, working mothers with a higher singular annual income, and working mothers who obtained a higher educational level were more likely to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity in the past week. Meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines in the past week was associated with better quality of life (r = 0.39; p < 0.001) and self-rated work productivity (r = 0.13; p < 0.05). Only the association between physical activity and quality of life remained significant in a multivariate analysis (standardized beta coefficient = 0.33; p < 0.001) after controlling for race/ethnicity, maternal singular annual income, and maternal highest level of education.

Conclusion:

Our findings highlight that working mothers in the United States are a group at risk for low levels of physical activity. Given the great benefits that these women do experience as a function of getting exercise, it is critically important we pay more attention to how individual, organizational, and societal-level interventions might assist them in attaining target levels of physical activity.

Using Self-Determination Theory to Examine Musical Participation and Well-Being

A recent surge of research has begun to examine music participation and well-being; however, a particular challenge with this work concerns theorizing around the associated well-being benefits of musical participation. Thus, the current research used Self-Determination Theory to consider the potential associations between basic psychological needs (competence, relatedness, and autonomy), self-determined autonomous motivation, and the perceived benefits to well-being controlling for demographic variables and the musical activity parameters. A sample of 192 Australian residents (17-85, M age = 36.95), who were currently participating in a musical activity at the time, completed an online questionnaire. Results indicated that females were more likely to perceive benefits to their well-being; and that how important an individual considers music in their life was positively related to perceived well-being. Importantly, the analyses also revealed that the basic needs of competency and relatedness were related to overall perceived well-being as well as specifically social, cognitive, and esteem dimensions of well-being. Autonomous motivation demonstrated significant associations with both an overall well-being score as well as four of five specific well-being subscales measured. Collectively, the findings indicate that Self-Determination Theory offers a useful theoretical framework to understanding the relationship between musical participation and well-being. Further, the pattern of findings reiterates the positive associations between musical participation and one's psychosocial well-being, with broad implications for people involved in the facilitation of musical activity.

Flourishing, Affect, and Relative Autonomy in Adult Exercisers: A Within-Person Basic Psychological Need Fulfillment Perspective

Flourishing is a construct used to understand human growth. Exercise psychology research is scant concerning this valuable construct. Hence, our purpose was to examine different levels of flourishing and related constructs within a large group of self-reported exercisers from a basic psychological need profile perspective. Participants were 389 female and 387 male adults attending fitness centers. Hierarchical cluster analyses revealed the presence of three clusters with significantly different psychological need profiles across the three basic needs. Separate multivariate analyses of variance were used for the analyses for our demographic variables and psychological variables. Follow-up post hoc tests showed that these clusters differed significantly and were low to moderate in meaningfulness regarding exercise min/week and sports experience. The clusters differed significantly, with moderate to large meaningfulness, in flourishing, positive affect, and relative autonomy. Self-reported exercise and sports participation were not the important cluster characteristics. Our results indicated that self-reported levels of flourishing, positive affect, and autonomy differ even within a large group of self-reported exercisers attending fitness centers that on average exceeded the weekly-recommended number of moderate-to-vigorous activity minutes. Thus, our results suggest the importance of fitness centers in meeting their participants&rsquo; three basic needs.

Self-determination theory and motivational interviewing interventions for type 2 diabetes prevention and treatment: A systematic review

Treatment of those with obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes often yields initial health improvements, but gains erode over time. A systematic search of self-determination theory and motivational interviewing papers for the above populations was conducted, yielding 54 publications and 42 independent samples. Interventions to treat overweight and obesity ( n = 15), prediabetes ( n = 4), and type 2 diabetes ( n = 23) are summarized and evaluated using the Quality Rating Scale. While the results of these studies are mixed, the majority of the interventions resulted in health benefits. Suggestions for future research are discussed.