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Exercise is good for health and well-being, yet people experience lapses when trying to adhere to exercise. Self-compassion may help people cope with exercise lapses. Most research on self-compassion and exercise has been conducted with women; men may also benefit from self-compassion. No research has examined whether gender-role schema influences responses to exercise lapses. The authors examined both male and female adult exercisers (N = 220) who reported their self-compassion, recalled an exercise lapse, their reactions to the lapse, and their self-identification of masculinity and femininity. After controlling for self-esteem, age, and lapse importance, self-compassion negatively related to emotional responses (p < .001), rumination (p < .001), extrinsic motivation (p = .004), and positively related to intrinsic motivation (p < .001). Masculinity moderated the relationships between self-compassion and amotivation (p = .006), and identified regulation (p = .01). Self-compassion may be an effective resource for exercisers, especially those who identify as highly masculine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adjusting identity standards may be preferable to relentless pursuit or abandonment of an identity when facing an identity-challenging life transition. Self-compassion (SC) can help people adjust to challenges. The authors examined whether SC was associated with identity adjustment, exercise, and the moderating effect of identity-behavior discrepancy in 279 women exercisers who reported reduced exercise in motherhood. Participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale and reported the extent of and reflected on their identity discrepant behavior (reduced exercise). Reactions to discrepancy (acceptance, shame, guilt, and rumination), correlates of identity adjustment (subjective well-being, autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and role conflict), and exercise behavior were assessed. SC associated positively with acceptance, correlates of successful identity adjustment, and exercise behavior. SC associated negatively with shame, rumination, and correlates of unsuccessful adjustment. SC may help exercise-identifying women who exercise less after becoming mothers adaptively cope with this identity challenge and continue exercising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the relationship between implicit and explicit "exerciser" and "sedentary" self-identity when activated by stereotypes. Undergraduate participants (N = 141) wrote essays about university students who either liked to exercise or engage in sedentary activities. This was followed by an implicit identity task and an explicit measure of exercise self-identity. Results showed that implicit and explicit exerciser identities were not highly correlated. There were also no significant prime effects, but women showed greater implicit sedentary identity, whereas men showed greater implicit exercise identity. This research suggests that implicit exercise-related identity is a distinct construct from explicit exercise identity. The results also reflect responses to societal pressures for women to be thin and for men to be strong, when free of self-presentational bias. (Contains 1 note.)

Self-compassion facilitates health behavior self-regulation; few studies have examined self-compassion and exercise. This online, cross-sectional study investigated self-compassion's relationship with exercise self-regulation of an exercise setback. Adults (N = 105) who had experienced an exercise setback within the last 6 months completed baseline measures, recalled an exercise setback, and completed questionnaires assessing self-regulation in this context. Self-compassion associated with self-determined motivations and exercise goal reengagement, and negatively related to extrinsic motivations, state rumination, and negative affect. Self-compassion predicted unique variance, beyond self-esteem, in exercise goal reengagement, external regulation, state rumination, and negative affect experienced after an exercise setback. Self-compassion and self-esteem had unique relationships with goal reengagement, state rumination, and situational motivation, while having a complementary relationship with negative affect. This research adds to the few studies that examine the role of self-compassion in exercise self-regulation by examining how self-compassion and self-esteem relate to reactions to a recalled exercise setback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep quality (SQ) impacts health yet many university students get poor sleep. Self-compassion (SC)—care for oneself during challenging times—is associated with SQ yet how SC has these effects is unclear. This study cross-sectionally examined whether SC is negatively related to poor SQ and whether proactive health focus and cognitive emotional regulation strategies (CERS) mediate this relationship. University students (N = 193) self-reported SC, proactive health focus, CERS, and SQ. SC negatively associated with poor SQ (r = −0.34) and self-blame mediated this (b = 0.08, 95% CI [0.01, 0.16]). SC may improve SQ through reducing self-blame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. We use a vulnerability framework to examine how residents of Pangnirtung. Nunavut, perceive the risks of aquatic activities in the context of adaptation to a changing climate. Our findings [...]

Self-compassion predicts mothers' engagement in health behaviours yet some mothers fear self-compassion. We examined relationships between both self-compassion and fear of self-compassion with mothers' reactions to prioritizing health behaviours. Mothers rated their self-compassion, fear of self-compassion, read a scenario about prioritizing health behaviours and rated adjectives describing themselves if they behaved as described in the scenario. Self-compassion was positively related to positive reactions to engaging in health behaviours in the midst of motherhood. Fear of self-compassion led to negative reactions. This research provides insight into why some mothers feel better about incorporating health behaviours into their lives than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine whether self-compassion—orientation to care for oneself during challenges—helps people at risk of cardiovascular disease deal with emotional reactions and assist with self-regulating health behaviors. This observational study recruited women (N = 102) who attended three research visits over 3 weeks to gather information on emotions, intentions, and engagement in health behaviors after women received news they were at risk of cardiovascular disease. Self-compassion negatively associated with emotional responses and associated with intentions and engagement in health behaviors after receiving news of their cardiovascular disease risk. Self-compassion was associated with adaptive lifestyle behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with acquired physical disabilities report lower levels of athletic identity. The objective of this study was to further explore why athletic identity may be lost or (re)developed after acquiring a physical disability. Seven women and four men (range = 28-60 years) participated in approximately 1-hour-long semi-structured interviews; data were subjected to a narrative analysis. The structural analysis revealed three narrative types. The nonathlete narrative described physical changes in the body as reasons for diminished athletic identity. The athlete as a future self primarily focused on present sport behavior and performance goals such that behavior changes diminished athletic identity. The present self as athlete narrative type focused on the aspects of their present sport involvement, such as feedback from other athletes and skill development, which supported their athletic identity. Implications of these narrative types with respect to sport promotion among people with acquired physical disabilities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the understanding of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, including barriers and health influences in people with osteoarthritis and knee arthroplasty. Methods: Eight participants with knee osteoarthritis and 14 participants with total knee arthroplasty were recruited to five focus groups. Interpretive description was used with thematic analysis of data. Results: Three primary themes arose: (1) continuum of activity; (2) barriers to increasing physical activity and barriers to reducing sedentary behavior, and (3) knowledge gap. While participants were generally familiar with the concepts of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, they were not aware of health risks associated with high levels of sedentary time and did not consider substituting standing and light walking for activities typically done in sitting. Participants reported that extrinsic barriers (e.g., related to social and cultural contexts or the physical environment) influenced sedentary behaviour more than intrinsic factors. Conclusions: Patients would benefit from clinicians providing education about risks associated with sedentary behaviour and strategies to reduce and/or break up sitting time. Future research should continue to explore personal as well as societal, environmental, political, and economic influences on sedentary behaviour and physical activity to promote behaviour change. People with osteoarthritis and total knee arthroplasty are not aware of health risks associated with high levels of sedentary behaviour. This cohort tends to think about increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels (versus increasing light activity) when asked to consider ways to reduce sedentary behaviour. Social and environmental factors strongly influence sedentary behaviour. Clinicians need to be aware of the pervasive nature of sedentary behaviour and provide knowledge and strategies to change peoples' sitting habits. Addressing intrinsic factors (e.g., related to comorbidities, ageing, and personal preferences) with education and the use of existing behaviour change techniques may enable increased physical activity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on exercise identity (EXID) indicates that it is related to negative affect when exercisers are inconsistent or relapse. Although identity theory suggests that causal attributions about this inconsistency elicit negative self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt, no EXID studies have examined this for exercise relapse. Weiner's attribution-based theory of interpersonal motivation (2010) offers a means of testing the attribution-emotion link. Using both frameworks, we examined whether EXID and attributional properties predicted negative emotions for exercise relapse. Participants (n = 224) read an exercise relapse vignette, and then completed EXID, attributions, and emotion measures. Hierarchical multiple regression models using EXID and the attributional property of controllability significantly predicted each of shame and guilt, R2 adjusted = .09, ps ≤ .001. Results support identity theory suggestions and Weiner's specific attribution-emotion hypothesis. This first demonstration of an interlinking of EXID, controllability, and negative self-conscious emotions offers more predictive utility using complementary theories than either theory alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research about exercise adherence amongst adults with arthritis has been largely correlational, and theoretically based causal studies are needed. We used an experimental design to test the social cognitive theory premise that high self‐efficacy helps to overcome challenging barriers to action. Methods: Exercising individuals (N = 86; female = 78%; M age = 53; BMI = 27) with differential self‐regulatory efficacy for managing salient, non‐disease barriers were randomly assigned to many or few barrier conditions. Individuals responded about the strength of their anticipated persistence to continue exercise, and their self‐regulatory efficacy to use exercise‐enabling coping strategies. Results: In the many barriers condition, higher barriers‐efficacy individuals expressed (a) greater persistence (Cohen's d = 0.75 [−0.029, 1.79]) and (b) more confidence in their coping solutions (Cohen's d = 0.65 [−0.30, 1.60]) than lower barriers‐efficacy counterparts. Conclusion: Experimental support was obtained for the theoretical premise that when facing the greatest barrier challenge, individuals highest in self‐regulatory efficacy still view exercise as possible. Findings suggest that identifying lower efficacy exercisers with arthritis to tailor their exercise to increase self‐regulatory efficacy might also improve their adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]