The role of physical activity in facilitating affect regulation
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Despite the known benefits of physical activity, many Americans remain physically inactive, leading to an increased risk for all-cause mortality, heart disease, and a number of other physical health consequences. While research has primarily focused on the physical health consequences associated with participating in physical activity, there are important psychological consequences as well. Research has demonstrated that physical activity can lead to beneficial changes in affect, successfully reduce symptoms of various clinical disorders, and buffer against stress. Evidence also suggests that physical activity may reduce the use of rumination, implying that physical activity may influence the ability to effectively regulate affective states in daily life. To further explore this relationship, I examined associations between physical activity and affect regulation in a series of three studies. In Study 1, I used structural equation modeling to clarify the relationships among activity levels, experienced affect, and affect regulation. Findings suggested that physical activity is both directly and indirectly related to affect regulation. Subsequent mediation analyses indicated that physical activity may directly influence affect regulation and lead to subsequent changes in experienced affect. In Study 2, I employed an intervention that increased physical activity and decreased sedentary behavior. Subsequently, I examined changes in affect and affect regulation over time. Physical activity was associated with positive affect, but not negative affect. Measures related to affect regulation increased immediately after the intervention and remained higher up to 6 months following the intervention. Sedentary behavior predicted positive affect immediately after the intervention but did not predict negative affect or affect regulation. In Study 3, I examined whether physical fitness, which serves as a marker for repeated engagement in physical activity, facilitated affect regulation in younger and older adults. Specifically, I assessed whether physical fitness was associated with better working memory performance following a negative mood induction. Results indicated that physical fitness facilitates working memory performance during a negative mood induction in both younger and older adults. Together, these findings provide initial evidence that physical activity may be associated with effectively regulating affective states.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Shurick, Ashley A |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Psychology. |
| Primary advisor | Gross, James |
| Thesis advisor | Gross, James |
| Thesis advisor | Carstensen, Laura L |
| Thesis advisor | Zaki, Jamil, 1980- |
| Advisor | Carstensen, Laura L |
| Advisor | Zaki, Jamil, 1980- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Ashley A. Shurick. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Psychology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Ashley Ann Shurick
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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