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Investigating the Impact of Physical Activity Counselling on Self-Compassion and Physical Activity

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Abstract

Physical Activity Counselling (PAC) is a Motivational Interviewing (MI)-based counselling intervention that has been shown to promote motivation for physical activity (PA), PA behaviour, and reduce depressive symptoms. However, no studies have looked at positive psychological variables, such as self-compassion (SC) within PAC. Moreover, no research has examined SC’s association with PA in the PAC context. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of PAC over time on SC (total and subcomponents), and PA (total, moderate and strenuous), and to see if any improvements in SC and PA variables were sustained at 1-month follow-up. Lastly, this study examined the relationship between SC at endpoint and PA at follow-up. Insufficiently active individuals participating in the PAC program (N = 31) completed validated online questionnaires before, immediately after, and 1-month following PAC. Paired samples t-tests and repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance tests revealed that there were significant increases in total SC, self-kindness, and total, moderate, and strenuous PA from baseline to endpoint, as well as decreases in self-judgement, and isolation. These improvements were all sustained at 1-month follow-up. Finally, no significant relationship was found between SC and PA, likely due to the fact that self-compassionate individuals might prioritize other health behaviors such as sleep or healthy eating over PA. This provides preliminary experimental evidence to support MI-based PAC as an effective means to increase not only PA behaviour, but also SC, an important psychological resource that has been linked to a myriad of positive health benefits.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. As only moderate and strenuous intensity physical activity are recommended by national health guidelines and have been associated with maximal health benefits (Godin, 2011), mild intensity was not examined in the current study.

  2. In other articles focusing on the PAC on-campus program, the behaviour change specialists have been referred to as counsellors. This wording has been changed in the present paper to comply with the definition of a Licenced Counsellor in Canada.

  3. To ensure the results were not being biased by using a complete case analysis (i.e., only analyzing those who completed the PAC program and excluding those who dropped out), a baseline-observation-carried-forward approach was also run (i.e., including the 9 that did not complete the endpoint questionnaire). Both analyses yielded the same findings.

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  1. School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa at Ottawa, 125 University Private, Ottawa, ON, K1N 1A2, Canada

    Olivia Pastore, Taylor McFadden & Michelle Fortier

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  1. Olivia Pastore
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Correspondence to Olivia Pastore.

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Pastore, O., McFadden, T. & Fortier, M. Investigating the Impact of Physical Activity Counselling on Self-Compassion and Physical Activity. Curr Psychol 42, 10951–10963 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02346-7

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