Psychology of Physical Activity: Determinants, Well-Being and Interventions

434 Pages·2015·3.41 MB·English

by  Stuart J. H. Biddle

Psychology of Physical Activity
The positive benefits of physical activity for physical and mental health are now widely
acknowledged, yet levels of physical inactivity continue to increase throughout the developed
world. Understanding the psychology of physical activity has therefore become an important
concern for scientists, health professionals and policy-makers alike. Psychology of Physical
Activity is a comprehensive and in-depth introduction to the fundamentals of exercise
psychology, from theories of motivation and adherence to the design of successful interven-
tions for increasing participation.
Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded third edition, Psychology of Physical Activity
is still the only textbook to offer a full survey of the evidence base for theory and practice
in exercise psychology, and the only textbook that explains how to interpret the quality of
the research evidence. With international cases, examples and data included throughout, the
book also provides a thoroughly detailed examination of the relationship between physical
activity and mental health. A full companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/biddle)
offers useful features to help students and lecturers get the most out of the book during their
course, including multiple-choice revision questions, PowerPoint slides and supplementary
learning activities.
Psychology of Physical Activity is the most authoritative, engaging and up-to-date intro-
duction to exercise psychology currently available. It is essential reading for all students
working in exercise and health sciences.
Stuart Biddle is Professor of Active Living and Public Health in the Institute of Sport,
Exercise & Active Living at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. He was previously
Professor at Loughborough University where he was Head of the School of Sport & Exercise
Sciences, 2001–2007. He was the inaugural Editor-In-Chief of the journal Psychology of Sport
& Exercise and is a Past-President of both the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition
and Physical Activity and the European Federation for the Psychology of Sport and Physical
Activity (FEPSAC). In 2010 he received the Distinguished Contribution to Sport & Exercise
Psychology Award from the British Psychological Society. Stuart has published over 250
research papers and sits on editorial boards of several leading peer-reviewed scientific
journals, including Preventive Medicine, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical
Activity, and Psychology of Sport and Exercise.
Nanette Mutrie is Chair of Physical Activity for Health at the University of Edinburgh,
Scotland, and she directs the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre there. She is also
a visiting Professor at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of
Glasgow and at the University of Ulster. Nanette is a Chartered Psychologist with the British
Psychological Society and has extensive experience of conducting interventions aimed at
increasing physical activity. She is also an Honorary Fellow of BASES. She has contributed to
policy, for example, ‘Let’s make Scotland more active’, and the National Institute of Health
and Clinical Excellence (NICE) programmes on physical activity and the environment and
the promotion of walking and cycling (www.nice.org.uk). Nanette was awarded an MBE in
the UK New Year’s Honours list 2015 for services to physical activity for health. She gets
her own exercise by commuter cycling, dog walking and playing golf (badly, so a lot more
walking involved!).
Trish Gorely is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity and Health in the School of Sport at
the University of Stirling, UK. Her research interests are in the psychology of physical activity
and health, and understanding physical activity and sedentary behaviour in young people and
adults. Trish is an Associate Editor for the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology.
Psychology of Physical
Activity
Determinants, well-being
and interventions
Third edition
Stuart J.H. Biddle, Nanette Mutrie
and Trish Gorely
First published 2001
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Second edition published 2007
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
This edition published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 S. Biddle, N. Mutrie and T. Gorely
The right of the S. Biddle, N. Mutrie and T. Gorely to be identified as the authors of the
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Biddle, Stuart.
Psychology of physical activity : determinants, well-being and interventions /
Stuart J. H. Biddle, Professor Nanette Mutrie and Trish Gorely. -- Third edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Exercise--Psychological aspects. 2. Clinical health psychology. 3. Health promotion.
I. Mutrie, Nanette, 1953- II. Mutrie, Professor Nanette. III. Gorely, Trish. IV. Title.
RA781.B486 2015
613.7--dc23
2014029401
ISBN: 978-0-415-51817-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-51818-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12349-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Perpetua
by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
Additional materials are available on the companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/biddle
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables x
Preface xii
List of abbreviations xiv
PART I
Introduction and rationale 1
1 Introduction and rationale: why you should take your dog for a walk
even if you don’t have one! 3
PART II
Physical activity and mental health 31
2 Physical activity and psychological well-being: does physical activity
make us feel good? 33
3 Physical activity and clinical depression: can physical activity beat the blues? 68
4 Physical activity and other mental health challenges: schizophrenia,
anxiety and dependencies 96
5 Physical activity and cognitive functioning: can physical activity help
the brain function better? 120
6 Physical activity and self-esteem: does physical activity make you feel
better about yourself? 138
PART III
Physical activity correlates and theories 157
7 Physical activity correlates and barriers: factors related to being active 159
8 Physical activity and attitude: active people have attitude! 181
9 Physical activity and motivation: what it is and isn’t 206
10 Physical activity and confidence: I think I can, I think I can, I know I can… 233
11 Physical activity and stage-based approaches: let’s do it in stages 250
vi Contents
PART IV
Physical activity behaviour change 273
12 Physical activity interventions: planning and design 275
13 Physical activity interventions for young people: get ’em young! 295
14 Physical activity interventions for adults and older adults: you are
never too old! 313
15 Physical activity interventions for clinical populations and conditions 343
PART V
Sedentary behaviour 365
16 Psychology of sitting: new kid on the block 367
PART VI
Conclusions 391
17 Summary, conclusions and recommendations: all’s well that ends! 393
Subject index 405
Author index 413
List of figures
1.1 The Toronto Charter for Physical Activity 4
1.2 Seven investments that work for physical activity 5
1.3 Behavioural epidemiological framework 7
1.4 Ecological framework 8
1.5 Average number of steps a day: Amish community 10
1.6 Percentage of Scottish adults achieving the 5 x 30 minutes a week
recommendation 17
1.7 Percentage of worldwide burden of disease caused by inactivity 21
1.8 Comparison of population attributable fraction and deaths caused in
millions by smoking and physical inactivity 22
2.1 The circumplex model of affect proposed by Russell 38
2.2 Affective responses to two bouts of physical activity, plotted in circumplex space 39
2.3 Effect sizes from McDonald and Hodgdon’s meta-analysis of aerobic
fitness training and mood states showing the so-called ‘iceberg profile’ 42
2.4 Effect sizes for experimental studies investigating exercise and affective
(‘mood’) states in older adults 42
2.5 Intra-individual variability in affective responses to different exercise stimuli 44
2.6 Mean scores for perceptions of coping assets over the course of pregnancy 46
2.7 Caption to come? 58
3.1 1965 physical activity level and 1974 scores for depression 77
3.2 Illustration of ‘risk of bias’ 80
3.3 Exercise treatment for depression 82
3.4 BDI scores reported in the TREAD trial 85
3.5 BDI scores pre and post 16 weeks of treatment 85
5.1 Adjusted post-test mean scores from exercise intervention 128
5.2 Mean effect sizes by age from meta-analysis on physical activity and
cognitive functioning 129
5.3 Mean effect sizes for exercising groups in RCTs of older adults 131
5.4 Fitness, cognitive and behavioural effects of exercise in older adults
with cognitive impairment, as reported from the meta-analysis by Heyn
et al. (2004) 133
6.1 A hierarchical and multidimensional model of self-esteem 139
6.2 The motivational approach to physical activity and self-esteem 140
6.3 The personal development approach to physical activity and self-esteem 141
6.4 A positive physical activity and self-esteem cycle 141
6.5 A model of physical self-perceptions proposed by Fox and Corbin 143
viii List of figures
6.6 Example items and format used in the Physical Self-Perception Profile
for Adolescents 144
6.7 Summary effect sizes from the meta-analysis conducted by Spence et al. 146
7.1 The role of correlates as mediators of physical activity behaviour change 160
7.2 Associations between parental physical activity and support, and
physical activity levels of young people, suggesting that the strongest
association is between parental support and physical activity 165
7.3 Responses (%) for four motives for physical activity from the EU (an
average of 15 countries, including the UK), and the UK 174
7.4 Data on motives for physical activity 175
8.1 The three-component view of attitudes applied to physical activity 182
8.2 A simplified version of the Health Belief Model 184
8.3 Theories of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Planned Behaviour (TPB) 187
8.4 A proposed integrated behaviour change model 194
8.5 A simplified version of Protection Motivation Theory 199
9.1 (a, b, c) An agent–means–ends (person–behaviour–outcomes) analysis
and different types of beliefs mediating such links 210
9.2 Possible links between rewards structures and intrinsic motivation 214
9.3 A continuum of self-determination in terms of different types of motivation 217
9.4 Correlations between SDT constructs and intentions and competence
calculated from a meta-analysis of studies concerning physical activity 219
9.5 Associations between participation in exercise and SDT behavioural regulations 220
9.6 Associations between participation in exercise and needs for autonomy,
competence and social relatedness 220
9.7 Twelve-month SDT behavioural regulation scores following an RCT for
overweight and obese women 222
9.8 A hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation proposed by Vallerand 222
9.9 The structure of ability beliefs with example assessment items 226
9.10 Correlations from a meta-analysis of studies assessing the association
between a measure of self-reported habit and different markers of
physical activity 228
10.1 Reciprocal determinism underpinning Social Cognitive Theory 234
10.2 A summary of self-efficacy and physical activity 239
10.3 Strategies showing significant effects when included in interventions
(‘in’) compared with self-efficacy effects for interventions when the
strategy was not included (‘out’) 240
10.4 Strategies showing significant effects on physical activity when included
in interventions (‘in’) compared with interventions when the strategy
was not included (‘out’) 241
10.5 Changes at six months between experimental and control groups for
exercise (Ex) and self-efficacy (SE) 243
11.1 Prevalence estimates for stages of change by different levels of physical
activity and exercise 252
11.2 Prevalence estimates for stages of change across four countries 253
11.3 Cyclical stages of behaviour change 253
11.4 Changes or differences in pros and cons across stages 256
11.5 Changes or differences in self-efficacy across stages 257
List of figures ix
11.6 Percentage of studies using the four dimensions of the TTM in inter-
vention development 259
11.7 Results showing that the individually tailored stage-matched inter-
vention group was more likely to reach the physical activity guidelines
of 30 minutes on five days per week at the end of the intervention, and
to reach the action stage by one month 260
11.8 The Health Action Process Approach 263
11.9 Sallis and Hovell’s natural history model of exercise 264
11.10 Relapse prevention model applied to exercise 267
12.1 The Behaviour Change Wheel 279
13.1 Percentage of young people in the UK meeting national physical activity
recommendations, when assessed by objective monitor 295
13.2 Different levels of interventions for young people 296
13.3 Effect sizes for three intervention types from meta-analyses of physical
activity interventions for both pre-adolescent and adolescent girls 300
13.4 Effect sizes for studies with girls only and boys and girls combined (but
data for girls’ physical activity) from meta-analyses of physical activity
interventions for both pre-adolescent and adolescent girls 300
13.5 Percentage of time children spend in MVPA during break (recess) time
for schools exposed to playground markings (intervention) and no
markings (controls) determined by accelerometer measures 303
13.6 Effect sizes reported for after-school interventions on the outcomes of
physical activity, physical fitness and body composition 304
13.7 Four types of active transport strategies 306
13.8 Effects for interventions on active travel for young people 307
13.9 Free-time physical activity sessions per week according to level of
VERB campaign recall 308
14.1 Selected results from a meta-analysis of worksite interventions 315
14.2 Results of the ‘Walk In to Work Out’ trial 317
14.3 Selected results from a meta-analysis of internet-based physical activity
interventions 326
14.4 Selected results from a meta-analysis of interventions focused on
walking in groups 329
14.5 Selected results from a meta-analysis of pedometer-based physical
activity interventions 330
14.6 Selected results from a meta-analysis of physical activity interventions
in older adults 334
15.1 Physical activity consultation content with examples 349
15.2 Total activity counts/week at baseline, 6 and 12 months by group 352
15.3 Effect estimates (Exercise – Control) with 95% confidence intervals
and p-values for outcome variables at the six-month follow-up assessment 356
16.1 A depiction of sedentary behaviour and physical activity along an
energy expenditure and posture continuum 367
16.2 Changes in TV viewing from intervention 380