Many preventive behaviors such as the practice of hand, personal, and respiratory hygiene; maintaining social distance (eg, staying home); and cleaning and disinfection are recommended for the prevention of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). However, a growing number of reports have revealed individuals’ violations to these COVID-19 preventive behaviors.1 These violations might endanger the community by increasing the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19. The uptake of and adherence to health behaviors, including behaviors related to the prevention of infectious diseases (eg, COVID-19), are likely highly dependent on individuals’ motivation, intention, and other decision-making factors.2 We aim to apply an integrated behavior change model of health psychology to explain why individuals fail to comply and adhere to these behaviors. © 2020 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate (a) if daily physical activity at the within-person level is related to four different core affects the same evening, (b) if core affects in the evening predict physical activity the following day, and (c) if physical activity predicts core affects the following day.

Design: A total of 166 university students were asked to complete the affect and physical activity measures once a day (in the evening), for seven days. Bivariate unconditional latent curve model analyses with structured residuals were performed to investigate the relations within days and across days between the core affects and physical activity.

Main outcome measures: Core affects and physical activity.

Results: Physical activity had positive within-day associations with pleasant-activated and pleasant-deactivated core affects and a negative within-day association with unpleasant-deactivated affective responses. There were, however, no statistically significant relations between core affects and physical activity across days.

Conclusion: These results highlight that the measurement interval might be an important factor that influences the association between core affects and physical activity behaviors. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Purpose: In a recent published article series in International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity a marriage between Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) was proposed. The purpose of the present paper is to describe the rationale and development of individual counseling, based on the tenets of SDT and techniques drawn from MI, used to promote exercise adherence.

Methods: A review of the literature relevant to the marriage of SDT and MI was conducted, and a counseling approach based on SDT and MI progressed. Guidelines for how to support individuals basic needs in individual counseling and scripts for individual counselling sessions to promote exercise adherence was developed.

Results: To support the individuals need for autonomy, competence and relatedness different techniques and approaches was proposed. The counseling technique is now being tested in a randomized control intervention (intervention group  (n=50), control group (n=50)) to promote regular exercise among healthy, inactive adults.

Conclusions: This paper outlines the rationale and development of individual counseling based on SDT and MI. Although a ‘complete marriage’ between SDT and MI may not be possible, an initial step towards a ‘new’ counseling approach has been made.

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between motivational profile, self-efficacy, basic needs satisfaction, exercise behavior, and well-being among Swedish university students. A set of the instruments including GLTEQ, SHIS, BPNES, BREQ-2 and BARSE was distributed at a university in southern Sweden. The respondents (n=260) included men (n=122) and women (n=138). For analysis and processing of the gathered data SPSS was used with Pearson’s r and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results showed that competence, autonomy and relatedness were positive predictors of self-determined motivation, whilst identified regulation, intrinsic regulation and barrier self-efficacy were positive predictors for strenuous exercise. Moreover, a regression analysis showed that only competence was a significant predictor for well-being; however, positive correlations were shown between all the basic needs and well-being. Satisfaction of the basic needs seem to result in more self-determined motivation and higher levels of barrier self-efficacy, which in turn increases the number of strenuous exercise sessions per week. Furthermore, satisfaction of the basic needs, especially competence through exercise, appears to be important for university students’ well-being. Strenuous exercise itself may also have the potential to positively influence well-being.

Syftet var bland annat att undersöka om försvarsanställda tränar enligt FMFysS på arbetstid, vilka hinder de upplever till träning och hur de övervinner dessa hinder. Bakgrundsvariablerna var kön, anställningsform, ålder samt huruvida träning enligt grundkraven genomförs på arbetstid. Ett egenkonstruerat formulär delades ut vid en av Försvarsmaktens institutioner (n = 286).Den vanligaste orsaken till att inte träna enligt FMFysS på arbetstid var tidsbrist/svårt att planera in träning på arbetstid, det högst rankade hindret till träning var stress/tidbrist och den mest använda strategin för att övervinna hinder till träning var tanken på känslan efteråt. Resultaten diskuteras utifrån tidigare forskning och författaren ger förslag till vad som bör iakttas för att främja uppslutningen kring FMFysS.

The Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) has implemented an obligation to exercise at work that not only concerns the military officers but the civil workforce at the garrisons are also encouraged to participate. Exercise motivation is a quite popular research area, but there are relatively few opportunities to study adults’ exercise motivation during compulsory circumstances such as those at the SAF. The study objectivises were: 1) to investigate if employees at SAF exercise according to the obligation; 2) which barriers they generally perceive towards exercising; 3) how regular exercisers overcome these barriers and 4) to examine gender, age and employment differences in mentioned factors. After a pilot study a specially designed questionnaire was distributed at a SAF garrison. The respondents (n=286) were divided into the categories: Men (n = 209), Women (n = 77), Civil workforce (n = 119), Officers (n = 167), Young adults (n = 66), Older adults (n = 220), Exercising according to SAF instructions (n = 170) and Not exercising according to SAF instructions (n = 116). Significant differences and correlations were found under each demographical category in relation to reasons not no comply, perceived barriers and strategies used to overcome exercise barriers. The results are connected to, and discussed in relation to Self-Efficacy Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour and Relapse Prevention Theory. The conclusions suggest that in order to facilitate compliance to the SAF instructions several aspects should be considered and interventions aiming to enhance exercise efficacy could be expected to be generally favourable.

Regular exercise habits are hard for many people both regarding establishment and adherence, which in many cases is caused by lack of motivation. Since the human body needs a certain amount of physical activity to function properly it is important to help people to motivate themselves in order to promote physical and mental health in society (Lindwall & Faskunger, 2003). The interest in motivation related research is, according to Roberts (2001) huge and holds as much as one third of all psychological research. A comparatively small part of this research treats perceived barriers to exercise and how individuals overcome these obstacles to adhere to their exercise habits over time. Such knowledge could be useful to challenge the drop-out rates by helping those who recently have initiated new exercise habits to maintain them, e.g. by providing useful strategies to overcome these barriers. These strategies could consist of predetermined coping strategies and alternatives to use when facing obstacles towards planned activities. The theoretical framework used was Achievement Goal Theory (Dweck, 1986; Dweck & Elliot, 1983; Maer & Nicholls, 1980; Nicholls, 1981; 1984; 1989 ref. ur Roberts, 2001), Expectancy-Value Theory (Eccles et. al 1983, 1984 ref. in Eccles & Whigfield, 2002), Relapse Prevention Theory (Brownell, Marlatt, Lichtenstein & Wilson, 1986), Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977 ref. in Bandura, 2001) and Social Exchange Theory (Thibaut och Kelley, 1959).

I diskussioner kring hur människor kan bli mer fysiskt aktiva för att gynna den allmänna folkhälsan fokuseras helt naturligt ofta på interventioner som rör fritidsaktiviteter och vardagsmotion. Dock finns det ytterligare en arena att ta hänsyn till, nämligen arbets- platsen. Vi tillbringar som bekant förhållandevis mycket tid på arbetet och en krävande arbetsmiljö kan i många fall ge upphov till ohälsa. I en annan vinkling av arbetsplatsen kan dock istället positiva möjlig- heter skönjas, möjligheter till att främja hälsa. Vi påverkas förstås av den atmosfär som råder på arbetet och sociala faktorer påverkar både attityder och beteendemönster, inte minst hälsorelaterade sådana. Omkring hälften av Sveriges befolkning har en arbetsförmån som innebär att de får motionera med arbetsgivarens stöd och av dem som får sådan kompensation av arbetsgivaren nyttjar drygt hälften av männen och mer än två tredjedelar av kvinnorna förmånen (Mark- lund, 2005). Det finns alltså stora möjligheter till hälsofrämjande arbete på arbetsplatsen och goda utsikter för arbetsgivare att skapa en stödjande miljö för regelbunden fysisk aktivitet.

The main purpose of the study was to examine exercise behavior and motivation in customers of a web based exercise service institution. The study also aimed to derive implications for optimizing the web services regarding exercise motivation enhancement. The respondents (n=1262) were active members of www.tappa.se and data was collected through a web based survey containing a number of exercise oriented questionnaires; e.g. The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale, Barriers Self-Efficacy Scale, Physical Activity Stages of Change Questionnaire 2:1, The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2, etc. The results revealed respondents to have a generally self-determined motivation profile and to utilize goals focused on health management and image. Also, there were correlations between demographical aspects and several psychological variables. Conclusions involve recommendations to apply a theory foundation in the web service, preferably using self-determination, self-efficacy and stages of change references. Challenges in order to develop this kind of web service, as well as exercise promotion in general, are to reach Pre-contemplators, whom could be hard to reach. Furthermore, a refocus of the studied web service from weight control to health related aspects could have positive impact on motivation and could also attract more men. Regarding workplace health promotion, it is essential to invest in motivational and engagement supporting methods. Finally, it is generally recommended to use qualified exercise psychology competence in exercise promotion.

Det övergripande syftet med projektet var att undersöka motionsbeteenden, målsättning och motivation till motion bland Tappas medlemmar. Ett delsyfte var att skapa underlag till implikationer för att kunna optimera webbtjänsten ur ett motivationsorienterat perspektiv. Deltagarna (n= 1262) var aktiva medlemmar i www.Tappa.se och datainsamling skedde i form av ett webbaserat frågeformulär bestående av flera motionsrelaterade instrument, bl.a The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale, Barriers Self-Efficacy Scale, Physical Activity Stages of Change Questionnaire 2:1, The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2, m.fl. Resultaten visade att Tappas medlemmar generellt har en självbestämmande motivationsprofil, att de vanligaste målsättningarna är kopplade till hälsohantering och utseende och att deltagarna inte upplever någon större förändring av faktorer som kondition, självkänsla och humör efter inträdet i Tappa. Vidare visar resultaten demografiska skillnader på flera undersökta variabler. Slutsatsen är att det sannolikt vore framgångsrikt att teoribasera Tappas verksamhet och tjänster, företrädesvis utifrån självbestämmande, självtillit och stegbaserad förändringsbenägenhet. I sin nuvarande form når Tappa sannolikt inte individer som befinner sig i förnekelsestadiet vilket är en utmaning för vidare utveckling av tjänsten, likväl som för motionsfrämjande verksamhet i allmänhet. En omfokusering av Tappas tjänster från viktkontroll till hälsoupplevelser och hälsoeffekter kan ha gynnsam inverkan på medlemmarnas motivation samt locka fler män till Tappa. För att framgångsrikt implementera motionsinterventioner på arbetsplatsen krävs strategiska satsningar på motivations- och engagemangsskapande metoder. Slutligen rekommenderas bruk av kvalificerad kompetens inom beteendevetenskap för motionsfrämjande insatser.

Background

The purpose of the present study was to use a person-oriented analytical approach to identify latent motivational profiles, based on the different behavioural regulations for exercise, and to examine differences in satisfaction of basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and exercise behaviour across these motivational profiles.

Methods

Two samples, consisting of 1084 and 511 adults respectively, completed exercise-related measures of behavioural regulation and psychological need satisfaction as well as exercise behaviour. Latent profile analyses were used to identify motivational profiles.

Results

Six profiles, representing different combinations of regulations for exercise, were found to best represent data in both samples. Some profiles were found in both samples (e.g., low motivation profile, self-determined motivation profile and self-determined with high introjected regulation profile), whereas others were unique to each sample. In line with the Self-Determination Theory, individuals belonging to more self-determined profiles demonstrated higher scores on need satisfaction.

Conclusions

The results support the notions of motivation being a multidimensional construct and that people have different, sometimes competing, reasons for engaging in exercise. The benefits of using person-oriented analyses to examine within-person interactions of motivation and different regulations are discussed.

Identifying different types of motivation that regulate behavior in an exercise context has been of high interest in exercise psychology science. One of the most widely used instruments for this purpose is the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2; Markland & Tobin, 2004), which recently has been revised (BREQ-3, Cid et al., 2018) to include also integrated regulation. In previous work, questions have been raised about the nature of introjected regulation, suggesting it can be divided into two different types of regulations, mirroring avoidance and approach.  Therefore, BREQ-3 has been further revised to include items that measure: two facets of introjected regulation (approach and avoidance), resulting in a 28-item instrument (named BREQ-4) measuring seven types of exercise regulation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine: (i) the factorial structure of the new and revised instrument BREQ-4; and (ii) associations between the two newly developed facets of introjected regulation (approach and avoidance), exercise behavior and the other types of regulation in the context of exercise.

Two subsamples, one from the UK consisting of 412 younger (mean age: 21.6 years) adults recruited from various Facebook groups, and one from Sweden, consisting of 369 middle aged (mean age: 40.7) working individuals, also recruited via Facebook, were used. In both samples, data was collected online through Qualtrics. Structural equation modeling was used to examine factorial validity and associations between latent constructs of exercise regulation in BREQ-4 and self-reported exercise behavior.

Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the 28-item 7-factor model displayed acceptable fit to data in both samples. Configural and metric invariance, but not scalar invariance, between the two samples was established. Avoidance regulation was unrelated to exercise behavior in both samples, whereas approach regulation was weakly and positively associated with exercise in the UK sample. Avoidance and approach was moderately to strongly associated in both samples. In terms of patterns of associations with the other types of regulations, results were similar in both samples: avoidance was more strongly associated with extrinsic regulation whereas approach was more robustly associated with self-determined types of motivation (identified, integrated and intrinsic motivation).  

Objectives: To examine the motivational predictors of the smoking cessation process at the between-persons and within-persons levels.

Methods: Mediation analyses were conducted on self-report data (N = 236) that were collected using interval contingent sampling over a 39-day study period.

Results: There was a high rate of attrition, as nearly 50% of participants were lost to follow-up. There were credible indirect effects of autonomous self-regulation on smoking behavior on the next day and seven-day abstinence through perceived competence and medication use. At the between-persons level, these models explained 17% of the variance in smoking behavior on the next day and 31% of the variance in seven-day abstinence; at the within-persons level, these estimates were 39% and 57%, respectively.

Conclusions: Day-to-day changes in autonomous self-regulation, perceived competence, and medication use are important initiators of the smoking cessation process.Practice implicationsSmokers might be more likely to make a quit attempt if practitioners “tune into” the day-to-day fluctuations of their patients’ motivation for stopping smoking, perhaps using an electronic platform to assess and compare smokers’ current reports to their previous experiences. Such “motivational attunement” can afford practitioners an opportunity to provide need support when patients are willing and able to initiate a quit attempt. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

An understanding of physical activity through mediators of behaviour change is important to evaluate the efficacy of interventions. The purpose of this review is to update prior reviews with meta-analysis to evaluate the state of physical activity interventions that include proposed mediators of behaviour change. Literature was identified through searching for five key databases. Studies were eligible if they described a published experimental or quasi-experimental trial in English examining the effect of an intervention on physical activity behaviour and mediators in non-clinical adult populations with the necessary statistical information to be included in the meta-analytic structural equation modelling analysis. Fifty-one articles (49 samples) met the eligibility criteria. Small overall effects were identified for mediation paths a (r = .16; 95% CI = .10 to .22), b (r = .21; 95% CI .16 to .27), and c (r = .24; 95% CI .12 to .35), c′ (r = .05 to .19) and ab (r = .02 to .07) that showed similar findings by theory and construct. The effect sizes seen in physical activity interventions are mediated by our current theories, but the effects are very small and no one construct/theory appears to be a critical driver of the mediated effect compared to any other. Innovation and increased fidelity of interventions is needed. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

While evidence suggests that interventions based on self-determination theory can be effective in motivating adoption and maintenance of health-related behaviors, and in promoting adaptive psychological outcomes, the motivational techniques that comprise the content of these interventions have not been comprehensively identified or described. The aim of the present study was to develop a classification system of the techniques that comprise self-determination theory interventions, with satisfaction of psychological needs as an organizing principle. Candidate techniques were identified through a comprehensive review of self-determination theory interventions and nomination by experts. The study team developed a preliminary list of candidate techniques accompanied by labels, definitions, and function descriptions of each. Each technique was aligned with the most closely-related psychological need satisfaction construct (autonomy, competence, or relatedness). Using an iterative expert consensus procedure, participating experts (N = 18) judged each technique on the preliminary list for redundancy, essentiality, uniqueness, and the proposed link between the technique and basic psychological need. The procedure produced a final classification of 21 motivation and behavior change techniques (MBCTs). Redundancies between final MBCTs against techniques from existing behavior change technique taxonomies were also checked. The classification system is the first formal attempt to systematize self-determination theory intervention techniques. The classification is expected to enhance consistency in descriptions of self-determination theory-based interventions in health contexts, and assist in facilitating synthesis of evidence on interventions based on the theory. The classification is also expected to guide future efforts to identify, describe, and classify the techniques that comprise self-determination theory-based interventions in multiple domains. © 2020, American Psychological Association.

Research confirming the beneficial effects of physical activity and warns about the risks of sedentary behavior are abundant in contemporary literature. Yet, humans have probably never been as sedentary as we are now. Nothing is more than a click away, we do not even have to leave the couch – food is delivered to our doors and we are able to both work and socialize digitally. Despite a huge amount and variety of health information available, it is obvious that a lot of people do not lead as healthy lives as they could. Most people are generally aware that regular exercise habits are beneficial from a health perspective, but apparently that knowledge is not enough to incorporate the behaviour into lifestyle routines. Exercise research has for the past 30 years steadily shown that as much as 50 per cent of exercise initiators drop out within 3-6 months. Hence, not even good intentions don’t seem to be sufficient for people to be able to adhere to exercise behaviours.

Exercise adherence therefore seems to be a considerable challenge, and since adherence is closely related to motivational aspects it is important to understand how to construct interventions promoting motivation and commitment. Traditional exercise interventions and promotion programs often lack sound theory foundations, hence also falling short in terms of structure and adequate evaluation systems.  Theory based work enable a deeper analysis of the underlying (psychological) processes, providing a more profound understanding of why some behavior changes are successful and some are not. It also generates structure and content to the intervention and enables identification of contributing factors and in which part of the process each factor is significant. These aspects are not only important for face to face programs but also in e-health, in terms of how we design tools and services, thereby placing high demands on our ability in applying theory to practice. Theory can also help us tailor personalized tools and services in our interventions, e.g. by identifying stage of change, facilitating motivational climate and autonomy support or managing barriers and drop-out.

In this project modern research in exercise motivation and behaviour change guides the design in developing a digital intervention package for the health industry (Tappa Service AB and Health Profile Institute AB). The main aims are to enhance knowledge about the psychological processes behind exercise adherence and to develop and test a theory based digital tool to support durable behavior change.

Regular physical activity and exercise bring about recognized health benefits and most Western countries have developed health recommendations, targeted information and programs to promote these behaviors. In spite of this, a large amount of the Western populations do not reach recommended levels of physical activity and exercise [1]. Because people in general are most likely aware of these benefits, one way to understand the modest uptake would be to study motivational aspects of these behaviors. This short communication paper is a summary of a PhD thesis entitled: “You don’t have to love it - Exploring the mechanisms of exercise motivation using self-determination theory in a digital context.

From a self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002) perspective, the nature of motivation is dynamic and the quite recent concept of “motivational soup” suggest that different types of motivational regulations coexist within people and that these within-person patterns in turn will produce different patterns of behavior. Instead of using traditional approaches focusing on variable centered analyses and between-person patterns, the relatively new trend (within this area) of using person-centered statistical analyses permit insights and understanding in how motivational regulations interact within persons and how these interactions relate to behavior. Such knowledge would provide a valuable contribution to the tailoring of interventions aimed to target specific groups of people using potent psychographic profiles as moderators instead of more blunted demographic variables (Hardcastle & Hagger, 2015). This symposium brings together European researchers from four different universities to discuss new insights on within-person relationships in different steps of the SDT process model. The first presenter will look into the associations between behavioral regulation profiles and exercisers’ emotional response in a large sample of health clubs members. The second presenter will discuss exercise motivational profiles of obese patients and how these relate to exercise behavior 6-months post-discharge. The third presenter will describe a model with four motivation profiles for exercise professionals in relationship to multiple continuous outcomes such as work satisfaction, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The fourth presenter will share results from a latent transition analysis on a three-wave longitudinal study in a digital context. The following discussion will then be focused on overlapping and specific motivational profiles in relation to exercise and physical activity promotion and strategies for future research and applications.

Sweden has adopted a somewhat different approach to handle the corona pandemic, which has been widely debated both on national and international levels. The Swedish model involves more individual responsibility and reliance on voluntary civic liability than law enforcement, while common measures in other countries are based on more controlling strategies, such as restrictive lockdowns, quarantines, closed borders, and mandatory behavior constraints. This commentary aims to give a brief overview of the foundations of the Swedish model as well as a discussion on how and why it has been adopted in the Swedish society based on Swedish legislations, culture, and traditions. Finally, perspectives on how the Swedish model could be connected to the tenets of self-determination theory will be discussed. © 2021 Human Kinetics, Inc.

There seems to be interesting commonalities between self-determination theory (SDT) and person-centred care (PCC), especially when considering their respective value systems and foundations for practice. Both perspectives are based on the fundamental view of human beings as active and capable persons who will thrive if the social environment facilitates certain essential conditions. This short communication paper addresses potential synergy effects in combining these two perspectives in order to improve future applications and assessments of person-centred care. Opportunities for theoretical guidance, concept and measurement adoption along with practical implications are briefly discussed.

Motivation is the driving force behind all behaviors, from posting cat pictures on Facebook to finishing an exam on time - and motivation determines how much, how often and how passionately we do it. Besides providing expertise and knowledge, teachers can create good opportunities for commitment, learning and development among their learners – or the opposite – by influencing the motivational climate.  Self-determination theory (SDT) describes how teachers’ communication style can affect motivation, which in turn affects learning, achievement, development and commitment among learners. SDT also provides reliable methods based on the significance of basic psychological needs considered essential for motivation and self-regulation in all humans; autonomy, competence and relatedness. The need for autonomy involves volition and self-determination, the need for competence is about feeling effective and capable, and the need for relatedness is about feeling affiliated to other people. Social contexts that satisfy these needs nourish personal involvement, sustainable motivation and wellbeing. When the needs contrarily are thwarted, e.g. by using punishments, force or guilt, learners will feel controlled, incapable and excluded, which is related to cheating, nonattendance and boredom. To inspire interest and dedication teachers could therefore benefit from applying SDT in the classroom to stimulate a favorable motivational environment where learners have the opportunity to grow and thrive, not only within the specific subject, but also as a person. Such a social climate will also loop back and influence the teacher’s own experience, basic need satisfaction and motivation; constituting the dependence and interdependence of classroom dynamics. 

Objective

A community in Sweden runs a project aiming to stimulate citizens to choose active transport to reduce city car traffic, emissions and noise; and to promote residents' health by increased physical activity. Citizens can borrow an electric bike providing electric assistance when pedaling (pedelec) for free for three months to “try and feel”, and are then offered to buy the bike after this period to a reduced price. The project has engaged approximately 500 participants over three years (2015-2017) distributed in three groups per year. Drawing from self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to examine underlying motives for choosing to use the pedelec above passive transport (car, bus) during and after the three month period.  

 Methods

Semi-structured interviews were performed with eight informants who had participated in the project during 2014-2016. These will be complemented with another 8-10 interviews from the 2017 participant groups. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore and describe attitudes, behaviors, goals and barriers regarding informants’ motives to physical activity in general, as well as specifically directed towards using pedelecs. The interviews were complemented with quantitative measures in two of the groups from 2017 before, during and after participation (N=19).

 Results

Analyses revealed four main themes of motivation. The informants chose the pedelec as a means of transport for health reasons (regular exercise), for economic reasons (avoid having two cars, reducing gasoline and parking costs), for environmental reasons (to reduce environmental impact) and for personal values (related to exercise identity and/or environmental-friendly). Those who used the pedelec regularly felt that their fitness improved and that they had more energy in everyday life. Participants also felt that the pedelec facilitated cycling to a larger extent, and in addition to using it for transport for work or school, they also used it for shopping and leisure activities.

 Conclusions

The step from passive to active transport might be challenging, but a pedelec might facilitate such a transition and reduce perceived behavioral barriers. This study could shed some light on how community interventions can be designed to facilitate autonomous motivation towards more sustainable transport behaviors.

Objective

A community in Sweden runs a project aiming to stimulate citizens to choose active transport to reduce city car traffic, emissions and noise; and to promote residents' health by increased physical activity. Citizens can borrow an electric bike providing electric assistance when pedaling (pedelec) for free for three months to “try and feel”, and are then offered to buy the bike after this period to a reduced price. The project has engaged approximately 500 participants over three years (2015-2017) distributed in three groups per year. Drawing from self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to examine underlying motives for choosing to use the pedelec above passive transport (car, bus) during and after the three month period.  

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were performed with eight informants who had participated in the project during 2014-2016. These will be complemented with another 8-10 interviews from the 2017 participant groups. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore and describe attitudes, behaviors, goals and barriers regarding informants’ motives to physical activity in general, as well as specifically directed towards using pedelecs. The interviews were complemented with quantitative measures in two of the groups from 2017 before, during and after participation (N=19).

Results

Analyses revealed four main themes of motivation. The informants chose the pedelec as a means of transport for health reasons (regular exercise), for economic reasons (avoid having two cars, reducing gasoline and parking costs), for environmental reasons (to reduce environmental impact) and for personal values (related to exercise identity and/or environmental-friendly). Those who used the pedelec regularly felt that their fitness improved and that they had more energy in everyday life. Participants also felt that the pedelec facilitated cycling to a larger extent, and in addition to using it for transport for work or school, they also used it for shopping and leisure activities. 

Conclusions

The step from passive to active transport might be challenging, but a pedelec might facilitate such a transition and reduce perceived behavioral barriers. This study could shed some light on how community interventions can be designed to facilitate autonomous motivation towards more sustainable transport behaviors.

Cycle commuting have been shown to promote major health effects, studies showing as much as 41% lower overall mortality compared to car or collective transport (Celis-Morales et al 2017). Yet, for many of us, there are significant behavioral barriers in changing our transport behavior. On the positive note, studies have shown that bikes providing electric assistance when pedaling (pedelecs) also have positive effects on cardiovascular health and helps people meet physical activity recommendations. It is possible that pedelecs could facilitate active transport by reducing some perceived behavioral barriers by enhancing autonomous motivation in line with self-determination theory (SDT).   The overall purpose was to examine underlying motives for using the pedelec above passive transport (car, bus). Semi-structured interviews (N=14) were used to study motivational aspects of participation in a community based pedelec project. Qualitative content analysis revealed that motives to choose the pedelec was health reasons (regular exercise), economic reasons (e.g. avoid having two cars), environmental reasons (to reduce environmental impact) and personal values (e.g. related to exercise identity).   These four motivational themes can be related to the tenets of SDT and the significance of autonomous motivation for behavioral regulation. The step from passive to active transport might be challenging, but facilitating use of pedelecs and appropriate communication policy might facilitate such a transition. Application of SDT and addressing the motivational themes found in this study could shed some light on motivational drives for active transport and inform community interventions and policies design to adopt sustainable transport behaviors.

Developing tailored digital interventions for exercise motivation by applying behavioral theory into existing web services in cooperation with the e-health industry could create a mutual base for experience exchange and practical implications. It could also add higher standards to e-health business by providing a scientifically sound and trustworthy foundation for digital solutions. This project aims to design an interactive tool grounded in sport and exercise psychology and combined with the latest expertise from information technology and innovation science, considering e-health industrial requirements and user needs. A main objective is to test the efficacy of using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) in designing, constructing and evaluating an exercise intervention. The digital intervention is based on a literature review mapping exercise motivation related to self-determination theory, complemented by qualitative cross-disciplinary interaction design methodologies, such as qualitative analysis of interviews and contextual observation capturing participant goals, behaviour, preferences, attitudes and frustrations. Intervention contents are essentially autonomy supportive structures, goal-setting support and relapse prevention, self-regulation structures, health information and web links. In February 2015 the intervention prototype will be pilot tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), involving existing members and clients (N > 10 000) of two health service companies. Outcomes relate to self-determined exercise motivation (The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale and The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2) and exercise behaviour, measured both by self-report measures (Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire) and step counters. The RCT contains three measure points in order to allow advanced analyses of change and mechanisms based on the SDT-process model and motivational profiles. Latent growth curve and structural equation models will primarily be used to analyse data. This pilot study will create a baseline for elaboration into a second phase, were the digital tool will be further developed and longitudinally tested and evaluated over a nine months period. © 2015 University of Bern, Institut of Sport Science 

The purpose was to examine the effects of an exercise pilot intervention informed by Self-determination theory. The 64 participants were randomized into experimental and control group. The main questions were whether the intervention would influence (a) exercise level, (b) motivation quality, and (c) autonomy and competence need satisfaction. We also examined the indirect effects of self-determined motivation on exercise. Significant intervention effects were found regarding exercise level and motivation quality. Also, intervention effect on exercise was found to be mediated by motivation quality and identified regulation. The results provide interesting information about the underlying mechanisms involved in exercise behaviour change. © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Health care costs are increasing twice as fast as wealth, making health promotion and development of cost-effective care increasingly important in order to generate sustainable health care solutions. E-health, applications and interactive tools for exercise promotion flourish; but despite this and an overflow of information regarding health benefits of regular physical activity, exercise adherence has proven to be a significant challenge. This article concerns a project aimed to design an interactive tool based on comprehensive knowledge from the field of psychology combined with expertise from information technology and innovation, based on e-health industrial requirements and user needs. The research group will, together with the expertise and infrastructure of the collaborating companies Health Profile Institute AB and Tappa Service AB, support and progress an existing PhD-project on digital interventions in exercise motivation. This will be done by designing; applying and evaluating a person-centred digital intervention prototype for exercise motivation and adherence enhancement based on Self-Determination Theory.

Purpose:There is a need for scientifically sound and theory based tools and services in e-health. In this project knowledge from the field of psychology will be complemented by expertise in information technology and innovation science in designing a digital intervention based on Self-determination theory (SDT) aiming to facilitate exercise motivation.

Methods:The intervention will be tested by a three wave RCT design in a population of e-health clients (n = 200) in a web based exercise service. Sensors (step counters) and self-reports (Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire) will be used to measure objective and subjective exercise behavior while instruments based on SDT (Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale and Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 ) will measure factors related to motivation.  Advanced mediation variable analyses (MVA) and latent growth curve models (LGCM) will be used to explore motivational processes, changes and profiles in relation to exercise behavior.

Expected Results:Based on the SDT process model, it is hypothesized that a (digital) environment supporting basic psychological need satisfaction will facilitate internalization and enhanced self-determined motivation, which in turn will have a positive effect on exercise behavior.

Conclusions:Clarifying mechanisms and indirect effects provide knowledge of how intervention effects could be interpreted and understood. Combining high level research design like RCT and advanced analyses as MVA provides valuable contributions to the understanding of theoretical mechanisms of motivation that could inform the tailoring of effective interventions promoting healthy exercise behaviours.  In addition, the project might form a prosperous interdisciplinary fusion generating innovative and theory based digital solutions for e-health.

Within the self-determination theory of motivation the concept “motivational soup” refers to motivational regulations forming profiles of accumulated drives towards behavior. Few studies have examined the probability of intervention effects to change such motivational profiles over time, knowledge that might inform future program design to promote sustainable exercise motivation. Participants (N=318) were 279 women and 40 men, aged 23-67 years (Mage=46.7; SD=9.4) consisting of adult members of a web-based step contest provided by their employers. Of the 166 individuals randomly assigned to the experimental group, 85 logged in to the digital intervention platform at least once and were considered treated as intended. This group had access to a web-based digital exercise motivation intervention based on SDT for three weeks. The trial had three measure points; T1 baseline, T2 (3 weeks) and a follow up T3 (6 weeks). To investigate the potential effect of the intervention on the odds of participants to change motivational profiles between T1 and T3 we used Latent Transition Analysis. The intervention had positive main effects on exercise level. A four profile solution showed good quality of classification into the separate profiles (entropy = .92). The profiles were labeled high-high (n=262), high-low (n=26), low-high (n=8), and low-low (n=12), where the label high reflected a more autonomous regulation pattern (missing n=10). Participants in the autonomous profile at T1 had high probabilities of remaining there at T3, but slightly lower probability in the control (82%) than the intervention (95%) condition. Participants in the control condition also had a statistically significant increased probability to belong to the profile with a decreased level autonomy T3 (high-low profile) (OR=4.0, p=.008).These results indicate that this digital exercise motivation intervention can increase the likelihood for participants to sustain autonomous motivation profiles over time.

Exercise-related goals and values are likely to differ between people based on factors such as gender, age and culture, and there are reasons to believe that the mechanisms between motivation and exercise behavior presented in the self-determination theory (SDT) process model also could vary as a function of such influences.

This study is part of a digital exercise intervention (see Weman-Josefsson et al., 2016) in a sample of 318 adult women (n = 278) and men (n = 40) aged 23-67 years (M = 46.7; SD = 9.4) joining a digital work-site based step contest. Behavioral regulations, psychological need satisfaction and exercise behavior was measured using a three wave web based questionnaire (T1 = baseline; T2 = post-intervention, week 3; and T3 = follow up, week 6). Moderation analyses were done in the SPSS macro PROCESS using a bootstrapping resampling approach.

The moderation analyses showed gender and age differences in the relations of behavioral regulations, psychological need satisfaction and exercise behavior within the SDT process model. Controlled motivation was for example a significant positive predictor for exercise in men showing external regulation at T2 to moderate the relation between psychological need satisfaction and exercise in men (beta = 11.29, p < .01) at T3 in appositive direction, while this path was negative and non-significant for women. Also Intrinsic regulation at T2 positively predicted relatedness need satisfaction for women at the same time-point (beta = 0.47, p < .05), but this path was negative and non-significant for men. In terms of age differences, the negative association between external regulation at T2 and strenuous exercise at T3 was stronger and significant for older adults compared to middle-aged adults (beta = -8.90, p < .01) and was positive (but non-significant) for younger adults.

We found gender and age to moderate several paths of the self-determination process model, suggesting more comprehensive analyses of potential moderators in exercise behavior to be an interesting avenue for future studies. 

Aims: Self-determined motivation has been found to be an important predictor of exercise behavior. Findings on gender and age differences are however mixed and previous research has called for studies to examine gender and age as potential moderating factors as they might influence how motivation quality affects exercise behavior.

Methods: Embedded in a controlled trial of a digital intervention aiming to promote exercise motivation, this study examined specific (longitudinal) pathways related to motivation quality, psychological need satisfaction and exercise behavior within the self-determination theory (SDT) process model in a sample of 318 adult employees. The participants completed web-based versions of Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale, Behavioural Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2, and Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire three times during a six weeks period.

Results: Moderation analyses revealed significant gender and age differences in the associations of motivation quality, basic psychological needs and exercise behavior over time. Several paths in the SDT-process model, linking psychological needs and motivation quality to exercise behavior, were moderated by gender and age. The stipulated mechanisms between exercise, motivation and psychological need satisfaction in the SDT-processmodel revealed to be stronger for women than for men, and stronger for older adults than for younger and middle-aged adults. The effect of amotivation on exercise was also significantly moderated by age in the full sample, by positively predicting light exercise for younger adults.

Conclusions: Future recommendations are related to the examination of potential differences in opportunities of autonomy support in the social context based on factors such as gender and age, and also to further examine these factors as potential moderators instead of statistically controlling them as default.

Examination of the mediating mechanisms within the self-determination theory process model will provide deeper insight in the mechanisms of motivational regulations and psychological need satisfaction. Optimally, such studies should also include examination of action theory links and conceptual theory links to consider theory capacity (Cerin & MacKinnon, 2009). We studied 318 participants (aged 23-67 years) included in a controlled trial testing a digital intervention tool aiming to promote self-determined exercise motivation using 3 wave measurement over the course of 6 weeks. The participants (279 women and 40 men) were randomized into experimental and control group and completed a web-based test battery with the SDT-related measures (Psychological needs in exercise scale, Behavioral regulations in exercise scale -2, and Leisure time exercise questionnaire) at baseline, post intervention (3 weeks) and follow up (6 weeks). Mediation analyses were conducted using the SPSS macro Process by Hayes (2013). Results showed indirect effects of psychological need satisfaction regarding the effect of the intervention on motivation and exercise behavior at follow up measures. In the group of participants exposed to the intervention, higher levels of autonomy need satisfaction at follow-up predicted lower levels of amotivation and external regulation. In these models we found positive significant action theory links and negative conceptual theory links, showing the intervention to impact autonomy in positive direction, while higher autonomy need satisfaction in turn decreased controlled motivation and amotivation. Higher scores of autonomy need satisfaction at follow-up also predicted higher scores of identified regulation, intrinsic regulation and autonomous motivation. Lower levels of amotivation were linked with higher levels of total exercise. In sum, the results reflect expectations from a a self-determination theory perspective and are in favor of intervention efficacy.

This study is a description of a short-term digital exercise intervention based on the theoretical framework self-determination theory and tested in a controlled trial. The sample consisted of 318 adult women (n = 279) and men (n = 40) aged 23–67 years (M = 46.7; SD = 9.4) participating in a digital step contest provided by their employer. All participants completed study baseline measures via validated web-based versions of the following instruments: Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale, Behavioural Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2, and Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. These measures were repeated twice, 3 weeks (post-intervention) and 6 weeks (follow-up) after study baseline. The experimental group had access to the intervention platform for three weeks. Data were analysed by analyses of covariance and mediation variable analysis. Results showed the intervention to affect exercise level and intensity as well as basic psychological need satisfaction and behavioural regulations. Intervention effects on amotivation post-intervention were found to mediate total exercise behaviour at follow-up. Moderation analyses showed intervention effects on light exercise to be stronger for those participants engaging in moderate or high levels of light activities at study baseline. Also, the effect on identified regulation was stronger for those with low levels of identified regulation at study baseline. This study adds to the knowledge on exercise motivation based on short-term intervention effects on level and intensity of exercise and physical activity. The use of mediating and moderating analyses uncover processes underlying the main intervention effects. Findings are discussed in relation to self-determination theory and previous research. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York