Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study
BackgroundIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, triggering many countries, including Canada, to issue stay-at-home orders to their citizens. Research indicates that these stay-at-home orders are associated with a dec...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-04-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e43411 |
| _version_ | 1797734083692855296 |
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| author | Kayla Nuss Wuyou Sui Ryan Rhodes Sam Liu |
| author_facet | Kayla Nuss Wuyou Sui Ryan Rhodes Sam Liu |
| author_sort | Kayla Nuss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, triggering many countries, including Canada, to issue stay-at-home orders to their citizens. Research indicates that these stay-at-home orders are associated with a decline in physical activity (PA), a behavior that can reduce disease risk and improve the quality of life. Many behavioral change theories, such as the self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation, state that PA engagement is mediated by psychological constructs, such as motivation. According to the SDT, motivation exists on a continuum from more controlled (external or coerced) to more autonomous (volitional) regulatory forms. Individuals move along the continuum from more controlled to more autonomous forms through the fulfillment of 3 psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Research indicates that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is positively associated with the autonomous regulatory form of motivation. Recently, researchers have speculated that a better method to describe motivation than movement along the continuum is to generate motivational profiles, which represent combinations of differing levels of controlled and autonomous regulation existing simultaneously.
ObjectiveWe aimed to identify distinct motivational profiles and determine their association with MVPA before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
MethodsUsing a cross-sectional, retrospective design, we surveyed 977 Canadian adults. We assessed motivation for PA using the Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-3 (BREQ-3). We assessed PA pre–, during, and post–COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in Canada using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). We derived motivational profiles using latent profile analysis (LPA). Using motivational profiles as an independent variable, we assessed their effect on PA at all 3 time points with multilevel models that included the participant ID as a random variable.
ResultsWe identified 4 profiles: high controlled and high autonomous (HCHA), low overall motivation (LOM), high autonomous and introjected (HAI), and high amotivation and external (HAE). The HCHA profile had the highest levels of weekly MVPA minutes at all 3 time points, followed by the HAI profile.
ConclusionsOur results suggest that a combination of both autonomous and controlled regulatory forms may be more effective in influencing MVPA than the controlled or autonomous forms alone, particularly during times of high stress, such as a worldwide pandemic. Although the odds of another global pandemic are low, these results may also be applied to other times of stress, such as job transitions, relationship changes (eg, change in marital status), or the death of a loved one. We suggest that clinicians and practitioners consider developing PA interventions that seek to increase both controlled and autonomous regulatory forms instead of aiming to reduce controlled forms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:39:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3843136b749546d7a001bf1ea1c7bd82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:39:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-3843136b749546d7a001bf1ea1c7bd822023-08-28T23:56:48ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2023-04-017e4341110.2196/43411Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective StudyKayla Nusshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7914-5944Wuyou Suihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2171-7989Ryan Rhodeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0940-9040Sam Liuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2364-7774 BackgroundIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, triggering many countries, including Canada, to issue stay-at-home orders to their citizens. Research indicates that these stay-at-home orders are associated with a decline in physical activity (PA), a behavior that can reduce disease risk and improve the quality of life. Many behavioral change theories, such as the self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation, state that PA engagement is mediated by psychological constructs, such as motivation. According to the SDT, motivation exists on a continuum from more controlled (external or coerced) to more autonomous (volitional) regulatory forms. Individuals move along the continuum from more controlled to more autonomous forms through the fulfillment of 3 psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Research indicates that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is positively associated with the autonomous regulatory form of motivation. Recently, researchers have speculated that a better method to describe motivation than movement along the continuum is to generate motivational profiles, which represent combinations of differing levels of controlled and autonomous regulation existing simultaneously. ObjectiveWe aimed to identify distinct motivational profiles and determine their association with MVPA before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsUsing a cross-sectional, retrospective design, we surveyed 977 Canadian adults. We assessed motivation for PA using the Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-3 (BREQ-3). We assessed PA pre–, during, and post–COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in Canada using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). We derived motivational profiles using latent profile analysis (LPA). Using motivational profiles as an independent variable, we assessed their effect on PA at all 3 time points with multilevel models that included the participant ID as a random variable. ResultsWe identified 4 profiles: high controlled and high autonomous (HCHA), low overall motivation (LOM), high autonomous and introjected (HAI), and high amotivation and external (HAE). The HCHA profile had the highest levels of weekly MVPA minutes at all 3 time points, followed by the HAI profile. ConclusionsOur results suggest that a combination of both autonomous and controlled regulatory forms may be more effective in influencing MVPA than the controlled or autonomous forms alone, particularly during times of high stress, such as a worldwide pandemic. Although the odds of another global pandemic are low, these results may also be applied to other times of stress, such as job transitions, relationship changes (eg, change in marital status), or the death of a loved one. We suggest that clinicians and practitioners consider developing PA interventions that seek to increase both controlled and autonomous regulatory forms instead of aiming to reduce controlled forms.https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e43411 |
| spellingShingle | Kayla Nuss Wuyou Sui Ryan Rhodes Sam Liu Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study |
| title_full | Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study |
| title_fullStr | Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study |
| title_short | Motivational Profiles and Associations With Physical Activity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study |
| title_sort | motivational profiles and associations with physical activity before during and after the covid 19 pandemic retrospective study |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e43411 |
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