Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Thall SC dis final.pdf (4.58 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion

Thall, Michelle S
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Human Ecology.
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.
Janet Buckworth (Advisor)
Diane Habash (Committee Member)
Maryanna Klatt (Committee Member)
242 p.
Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Health Sciences; Psychology
Exercise; physical activity; self-compassion; body image; body appreciation; motivation; self-determination theory; middle-aged women; behavior change; positive psychology; health psychology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Thall, M. S. (2014). Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Thall, Michelle. Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion . 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Thall, Michelle. "Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1400837236

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1400837236
2,900
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Exercise & Physical Activity in Middle-Aged Women: The Role of Self-Compassion by Michelle S Thall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.