Dispositional mindfulness and its relationship to exercise motivation and experience.
Sarah Lynn, Medha Kumari Satyal, Alana J Smith, Noor Tasnim, Daphne Gyamfi, Daniel F English, Wendy A Suzuki, Julia C. Basso
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2022.934657 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 205 |
| Population | Urban adults who self-reported low (exercising 2 or fewer times per week for 20 minutes or less; n=78) or moderate (exercising 1 or 2 times per week for 20 minutes or more; n=127) exercise engagement |
| Measures | Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Exercise dependence Mindfulness-based stress reduction Self-regulation |
| Key findings | Heightened dispositional mindfulness was associated with greater exercise self-determination, driven by negative associations with amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation. Mindfulness was also associated with lower psychological distress upon exercise and decreased exercise dependence/addiction. The authors suggest increased dispositional mindfulness may support a healthy relationship with exercise. |
Abstract
Mindfulness is the psychological state of staying attuned to the present moment, without ruminating on past or future events, and allowing thoughts, feelings, or sensations to arise without judgment or attachment. Previous work has shown that heightened dispositional mindfulness is associated with the awareness of the importance of exercise, exercise self-efficacy, exercise motivation, and self-reported exercise level. However, more methodologically rigorous studies are needed to understand the relationship between mindfulness and the psychological mechanisms related to exercise motivation, including the identification of why individuals are motivated to engage in exercise, the subjective experience of exercise, and the propensity for exercise dependence and addiction. In this cross-sectional investigation, we utilized the framework of the Self-Determination Theory to examine the hypothesis that heightened dispositional mindfulness (as measured by the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale) would be associated with increased levels of exercise motivation that were derived by higher levels of autonomous self-regulation. Individuals were recruited from urban areas who self-reported either low (exercising 2 or fewer times per week for 20 min or less; n = 78) or moderate (exercising 1 or 2 times per week for 20 min or more; n = 127) levels of exercise engagement. As hypothesized, heightened dispositional mindfulness was significantly associated with heightened levels of exercise self-determination as measured by the Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire, with this effect being driven by negative associations with amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation. Additionally, we found that heightened dispositional mindfulness was associated with lower levels of psychological distress upon exercise and decreased exercise dependence/addiction. Overall, increased dispositional mindfulness may support a healthy relationship with exercise. These findings have implications for the utility of mindfulness interventions to support the regulation of exercise behaviors in service of enhancing exercise motivation and engagement.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 11
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review British Medical Bulletin April 21, 2021
- The relationship between mindfulness and objective measures of body awareness: A meta-analysis Scientific Reports November 22, 2019
and 6 more in the library