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We investigated how autonomous and controlled motives for saving money contribute longitudinally to self-regulatory coping, goal progress, and psychological need satisfaction/frustration. We also investigated whether mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) facilitates saving through interactions with controlled goal motives. We randomly assigned participants (N = 364) to the MCII or control condition. We assessed self-reported motives, self-regulatory coping, saving goal progress, and need satisfaction/frustration over 6 months. Autonomous motives predicted greater task-based coping and, indirectly, goal progress and need satisfaction. Controlled motives predicted increased disengagement-based coping and decreased task-based coping, which indirectly predicted need frustration and reduced progress, respectively. MCII decreased the negative relations between controlled motives and task-based coping, and indirectly predicted saving progress. Autonomous motivation is associated with saving money and need satisfaction. Conversely, controlled motives predict the thwarting of psychological needs and decreased saving. MCII might improve self-regulatory coping and saving in individuals with controlled motives., Funding: This study was funded by an Australian Research Council Grant (DP200101555) awarded to the authors (principal investigator: Nikos Ntoumanis).

Background: People with symptomatic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation programs (PRPs), but program attrition is common. Methods: For people with COPD who presented to tertiary care and appeared appropriate for a PRP, we prospectively mapped their PRP journey, explored factors influencing attendance to pre-program assessment and captured program attrition. Results: Of the 391 participants, 31% (95% CI 27 to 36) were referred to a PRP (n = 123; age 68 ± 10years, 62 males [50%], FEV1 45 ± 19%predicted). Of those referred, 94 (76% [69 to 84]) attended a pre-program assessment. Ex-smokers and those who had a healthcare professional (HCP) explain they would be referred were more likely to attend a pre-program assessment (odds ratio [95%CI]; 2.6 [1.1 to 6.1]; and 4.7 [1.9 to 11.7], respectively). Of the 94 who attended, 63 (67% [58 to 77]) commenced; and of those who commenced, 35 (56% [43 to 68]) completed a PRP. All who completed (n = 35, 100%) were provided at least one strategy to maintain training-related gains. Conclusion: Attrition occurs throughout the PRP journey. Interactions with HCPs about PRPs positively influenced attendance. Understanding how HCPs can best contextualise PRPs to encourage referral acceptance and uptake is an important area for further work.

People with autonomous motives (e.g., personal importance) may use automated strategies to effortlessly sustain goal-directed behavior and overcome obstacles. We investigated whether conscious effort, ease of goal striving, physiological effort, and the number of obstacles encountered mediate relations between motives and goal attainment for a competitive cycling goal. Additionally, half the participants (n = 57) were trained in Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII)–a technique that facilitates development of goal-directed behavior–with remaining participants (n = 54) treated as controls. Conscious investment of effort mediated relations between autonomous motives and goal attainment. Subjective ease of goal striving and physiological effort did not. This result indicates that successful goal striving is not perceived as effortless for autonomously motivated individuals working on competitive goals. Conversely, MCII predicted a reduction in obstacles, which in turn was associated with easier goal striving but not goal attainment. Although MCII did not support goal attainment in the current study, its ability to minimize the influence of obstacles may still be useful for other types of goals or for sustaining long-term goal pursuit. © 2023 Taylor & Francis.

© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Narrative reviews indicate psychological and social benefits of sport participation for the ageing population. However, no quantitative synthesis of quantitative studies on this topic has been conducted yet. We evaluated the magnitude and heterogeneity of the effects of sport participation on psychosocial outcomes for middle-aged and older adults (>35 years). Ten databases were searched in July 2020. Quantitative studies (k = 25) of middle-aged and older adults, measuring at least one psychosocial outcome of sport participation were included. Multilevel meta-analysis showed that the association between sport participation and psychosocial outcomes was small, yet significant. Moderation analyses revealed that the pooled effect differed according to outcome type; small to moderate associations were observed for social, positive psychological, perceived physical, and cognitive outcomes, but not for negative psychological outcomes. Risk of bias, assessed using the QualSyst tool, indicated low quality of evidence. Our findings suggest that sport participation is associated with multiple psychosocial benefits for middle-aged and older adults that appear invariant across participant-related and sport-related characteristics. We found no evidence of publication bias, but studies were underpowered and rated as low quality. Our review provides quantitative evidence for the psychosocial benefits of sport participation for adults, complementing existing qualitative research on this topic.

There is a growing need to identify acceptable and feasible opportunities to engage adults over 35 years in physical activity. Walking sports may be a potential means to engage adults in sport; however, there is limited evidence regarding appeal and feasibility to support its implementation and delivery. Using a two-step mixed-methods approach, we aimed (1) to quantitively identify significant predictors of intentions of adults over 35 years to participate in walking sports and (2) to understand why and how these identified predictors may be contextually relevant to the target group. In phase one, 282 adults over 35 years (Mage = 46.08, SD = 9.75) without prior experience of walking sports completed an online questionnaire assessing personal, psychosocial, program-related, and environmental predictors, and intentions to participate in walking sports. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions showed that perceived health status, attitudes, subjective norms, and distance of venue were significant predictors of intentions. In phase two, interviews with a subset of 17 participants indicated that, when implementing walking sport programs, program labeling, fear of the unknown, and individual differences in the appeal of walking sport warrant consideration. Together, these findings offer insight into the complex interplay of personal, psychosocial, program-related, and environmental predictors of adults' intentions to participate in walking sports. Addressing these elements of a walking sport program would make such programs more appealing to potential participants, and ultimately, more feasible and sustainable to conduct in the long run. © 2023 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Issues Addressed: We aimed to identify latent health behaviour profiles of young adults and examine their associations with physical and mental health outcomes. We also characterised the profiles by socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: Data were collected between 2012 and 2014. Participants (N = 476) were young adults (M age [SD] = 22.1 [.57] years) from Generation 2 of the Raine Study longitudinal cohort. Health behaviours were measured via ActiGraph GT3X waist monitors (physical activity, sedentary behaviour) and questionnaires (diet quality, alcohol, smoking and sleep). Physical and mental health were measured using clinical health assessments, blood biomarkers, and questionnaires. Latent Profile Analysis using Mplus (8.2) was employed to identify profiles. Results: Four latent profiles were identified: ‘heavy drinkers with moderately unhealthy eating habits’ (high takeaway foods; n = 135), ‘unhealthy food abstainers’ (low takeaway foods; n = 138), ‘moderately sedentary alcohol abstainers’ (n = 139) and ‘physically active drinkers with unhealthy eating habits’ (high takeaway foods and sugary drinks; n = 64). ‘Physically active drinkers with unhealthy eating habits’ had the poorest (physical and mental) health outcomes, yet the lowest insulin resistance. ‘Unhealthy food abstainers’ had the most favourable health outcomes (adiposity, health perceptions, blood pressure). Sex differed among the profiles. Conclusions: The profiles identified among young adults are different to profiles with general adult populations. A novel finding was that ‘physically active drinkers with unhealthy eating habits’ had low insulin resistance. The findings also suggest that future interventions may need to be sex specific. So What: Our findings suggest that health behaviour interventions for young adults should be targeted to distinct profile characteristics.

Parents must rapidly adapt goals from various aspects of their lives to accommodate the demands of the early stages of parenthood. According to the self-concordance model, having autonomous goal motives (based on enjoyment or personal goal value) should foster effective self-regulation (e.g., coping strategies), better goal management, and increase the likelihood of goal attainment, compared to controlled motives (goals driven by demands/pressures). Metacognitive techniques, such as mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII), can also facilitate goal regulation. We used experience sampling over 1 month to study goal striving in parents (N = 103). We investigated how motives and spontaneously occurring features of MCII (i.e., mental imagery, reflection on obstacles, implementation intention planning) predict three key self-regulatory coping strategies: exerting effort, disengaging, and modifying/adjusting goals to make them attainable. We examined whether these strategies influenced relations between motives and goal progress, intergoal facilitation, and interference between parenting/competing life goals. Autonomous motives and MCII-like features were positively associated with effort coping, which in turn was related to goal progress and facilitation. Additionally, in individuals with high controlled motives, MCII-like features positively predicted increased adjustment of competing life goals. Goal adjustment positively predicted differences in intergoal facilitation. Results indicate that exerting effort and adjusting goals are effective strategies for attaining and managing multiple goals. Both goal motives and MCII-like features are associated with the use of these strategies. The findings suggest that parents will benefit from selecting autonomously motivated goals and using MCII-like features to manage parenting and other competing life goals © 2023, Motivation Science. All rights reserved, Funding: Australian Research Council (DP200101555)

In spite of the large-scale growth of walking sport (WS) programmes globally, limited research has explored the experiences of the key stakeholders involved in such programmes (i.e. decision-makers, facilitators, and players). We aimed to explore stakeholder experiences of community-based WS programmes to better understand the appeal of such sport options for middle-aged and older adults, and propose tentative recommendations for the feasibility and sustainability of these types of programmes. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 stakeholders who were involved with WS programmes in Australia as decision-makers, facilitators, and/or players. Data were analysed with reflexive thematic analysis. Four key themes pertaining to the WS experience were identified–‘a renewed lease of life’, ‘navigating ageing stereotypes’, ‘tension between organisational demands and players’ needs’, and ‘WS facilitators as catalysts of success’. Specifically, we found that WS participation enabled a positive ageing discourse for middle-aged and older adults. WS players had to negotiate stereotypes that, at times, were perceived as participation barriers. We also noted some tensions between the demands of sport organisations and the needs of middle-aged and older adults regarding sport participation. Finally, we also noted the importance of the facilitators’ role in increasing accessibility of, and long-term participation in, such programmes. We suggest that to offer feasible and sustainable community-based WS programmes across Australia, incompatibilities across various stakeholders’ perspectives need to be addressed. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.