Daily Exercise Habits and Well-Being: The Effects of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness

• In Event: 30.030 - Intensive Data Approaches to Students' Day-to-Day, Moment-to-Moment Emotions, Motivation, and Engagement

Abstract

Purpose. A daily diary study was designed examining the relationship between college students’ psychological need satisfaction with exercise habits and well-being. Understanding why individuals engage in healthy habits is increasingly important as people continue to lead unhealthy lives. Three research questions were proposed: 1) Are person-level feelings of need fulfillment (autonomy, competence, relatedness) in one’s life globally and motivation for exercise associated with exercise habits? 2) Do daily experiences of need satisfaction (daily autonomy, competence, relatedness) predict changes in daily exercise habits, even after accounting for person-level feelings of need fulfillment and motivation for exercise? 3) Does person-level need fulfillment and daily experiences of need satisfaction predict changes in daily well-being?

Theoretical Framework. Self-determination theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000) is useful for exploring the relationship between psychological health, daily exercise habits, and well-being. According to SDT, three basic needs, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, underlie adaptive motivation and psychological functioning (Ryan & Deci, 2000). There is research evidence to support the relationship between psychological need satisfaction and psychological well-being (Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2004; McDonough & Crocker, 2007), physical health (Ng et al., 2012; Reinboth, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2004), and health habits (Edmunds et al., 2006; Wilson, Rodgers, Blanchard, & Gessell, 2003). While there is research linking need satisfaction to psychological well-being and physical health, there has not yet been a study looking specifically at daily need satisfaction and daily health habits.

Methods and Data Sources. Participants (N=234 college students) took several surveys; baseline surveys measuring person-level feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and motivations for exercise. For 14 days, participants took daily surveys measuring daily levels of needs satisfaction, recording exercise habits, and reporting well-being. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used for the primary tests. For this dataset, the lower level unit, days, was nested within the higher level unit, persons. For each multilevel model, level 1 included time, the three person-level variables, the three daily need satisfaction variables, and the outcome reported on the previous day, and time. Models with exercise outcomes also included motivation for working out as a person-level measure.

Results. Results indicate daily fluctuations in need satisfaction do matter. Daily autonomy, at both the within- and between-person level, positively and significantly predict exercise behaviors and well-being. Daily competence, at both the within- and between-person level, positively and significantly predict well-being. Daily relatedness, at both the within- and between-person level, positively and significantly predicts well-being. Above and beyond a person’s stable person-level indicators of these needs, daily fluctuations in need satisfaction are important for understanding why people engage in exercise habits and experience well-being. See Table 1 and 2 for all results.

Scholarly Significance. Findings have implications for helping people lead healthier lives, both physically and psychologically. Fulfillment of these needs on any given day does play a role in how much a person engages in exercise and experience well-being.

Authors

• Ariana Christine Vasquez, University of Pittsburgh

• Erika Alisha Patall, University of Southern California