Abstract

Abstract:
Women's motivation to exercise and their sense of well-being.
Background: For women, motivation to exercise (MTE) and the attitude towards their subjective well-being (SWB) can be subject to many influences. Existing literature shows a vast range of different moderating variables to MTE that women experience dependent on their personal circumstances. Those can be health, physical appearance, or time limitations. Previous studies noted MTE in the general population and athletes-based demographic, in a quantitative capacity and further reported a positive correlation between exercise participation and well-being. Specific motivators and barriers to exercise have been reported as varied based on qualitative data, whilst well-being (WB) studies have largely focused on quantitative data in measurement of WB of populations. SWB has been documented as synonymous with life satisfaction and happiness, and as related to age. However, population survey data tell us little about the correlation between the initial MTE and SWB in female demographic. This study is concerned with that correlation, taking into consideration age as a potential moderator. Based on qualitative data, it further investigates the predominant motivators and barriers to exercise and reports attitude to SWB at different stages of woman's life and reports potential moderating variables.
Methods: Mixed-methods sequential design. Phase 1 quantitative data collected from 146 respondents using BREQ 3 questionnaire, delivered via Qualtrics. Analysis via SPSS assessed relationships between variables: MTE, age, and SWB. Spearman’s correlation was used to examine the External, Introjected, Integrated, Identified and Intrinsic motivations and their correlation with SWB. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test correlation between age and SWB. The leading type of exercise motivation per respondent and its correlation with age was tested by Pearson’s Chi-squared test. Phase 2 qualitative data collected from 11 semi-structured interviews was analysed by Thematic analysis, using NVivo 12 software to organize codes and themes.
Results: Results of the quantitative data analysis reported External and Introjected motivation to correlate with lower levels of SWB (rs = -.201; p = .015), and Intrinsic
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motivation with higher levels of SWB (rs = .170; p = .040). Integrated and Identified motivation did not report significant correlation with SWB. The age of the participants was reported to play a role in levels of SWB (Kruskal-Wallis test, H (3) = 9.553, p < 0.05), but not in leading type of exercise motivation (Pearson’s Chi-squared test, X2(12, N = 146) = 18.043, p = .114). The qualitative phase 2 Thematic analysis reported themes within motivators and barriers to exercise related to physical body (health, body image, access to facilities), mental states (mental health, mindset) and relationships with others (togetherness, parenthood). Although the sample reported that motivators and barriers change throughout a woman's adult life, the moderating variable for both, MTE and SWB, emerged from the Thematic analysis as Self-awareness (SA), and not age as anticipated from the initial quantitative data findings. This study revealed SA as a potential variable but recommends further research. Professional practice might wish to consider implementation of processes which incorporate focus on SA to improve MTE and subsequently create positive impact on women’s WB.