Acting one's age in physical exercise : do perceived age norms explain autonomous motivation among older adults?

Background: The social identity approach proposes that the more older adults identify with the social group of “older adults,” the more they will conform to what they perceive as being normative exercising for their group. However, so far, it remains unclear why older adults adhere to these norms. Objective: This study evaluated whether perceived exercise norms are associated with higher levels of autonomous motivation according to the self-determination theory and actual exercise participation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey, either by regular mail or online, was conducted among 409 older... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Pelssers, Johan
Hurkmans, Emilie
Scheerder, Jeroen
Vanbeselaere, Norbert
Vos, S.B.
Smits, Tim
Boen, Filip
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
Reihe/Periodikum: Pelssers , J , Hurkmans , E , Scheerder , J , Vanbeselaere , N , Vos , S B , Smits , T & Boen , F 2018 , ' Acting one's age in physical exercise : do perceived age norms explain autonomous motivation among older adults? ' , Journal of Aging and Physical Activity , vol. 26 , no. 4 , pp. 521-529 . https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2016-0290
Schlagwörter: physical activity / self-determination theory / Seniors / survey / social identity approach / Cross-Sectional Studies / Exercise/psychology / Humans / Middle Aged / Male / Personal Autonomy / Belgium / Motivation / Aging / Female / Surveys and Questionnaires / Aged
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26981238
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://research.tue.nl/en/publications/da27185c-c813-4bf0-aa14-36e4040a2e5c

Background: The social identity approach proposes that the more older adults identify with the social group of “older adults,” the more they will conform to what they perceive as being normative exercising for their group. However, so far, it remains unclear why older adults adhere to these norms. Objective: This study evaluated whether perceived exercise norms are associated with higher levels of autonomous motivation according to the self-determination theory and actual exercise participation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey, either by regular mail or online, was conducted among 409 older adults in Flanders (Belgium). Results: Our analyses revealed that older adults who perceived more positive older adult norms for exercising were more autonomously motivated to exercise. In explaining 24% of their exercise motivation, older adults’ perceptions of the exercise norms for older adults predicted 6% of their exercise participation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that social identity approach and self-determination theory can be meaningfully integrated.