EXERCISE COMMITMENT AND DEPENDENCE, BUT NOT SELF-EFFICACY, DIFFERENTIATE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE HISPANIC ADULTS

Hispanic adults are less likely to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines than other racial and ethnic groups and have a high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome, health outcomes that may be mitigated by engagement in optimal levels of PA. Psychological factors associated with optimal PA engagement in this population have been under studied, and could provide key insight into behavioral patterns. PURPOSE: To explore psychological factors associated with optimal PA engagement (meeting both aerobic and resistance training guidelines) in physically active Hispanic adults. METHODS: Participants who provided information to determine aerobic and resistance activity levels from an online questionnaire were eligible for this analysis. Based on responses related to PA level, a dichotomous variable was created to designate either meeting both guidelines or failing to meet both guidelines. The questionnaire also included a measure of exercise commitment (Adapted Commitment to Physical Activity scale), dependence (Exercise Dependence scale), and self-efficacy (Physical Activity Self-Efficacy scale), from which continuous scores were calculated. For these measures, higher scores indicate greater levels of these psychological constructs. Demographic characteristics were calculated for the study sample. T-tests were used to determine differences between survey scores in participants who met guidelines for both aerobic and resistance training and those who did not meet guidelines. RESULTS: Among 60 eligible participants, 26 failed to meet both guidelines and 23 met both guidelines (n=49, 80% female, age 30.4 ± 12.0 years). Participants who met both guidelines differed from participants who failed to meet both guidelines in scores of exercise dependence (59.0 ± 29.0 vs 49.0 ± 15.6 respectively, p=0.04) and physical activity commitment (47.1 ± 5.4 vs 40.0 ± 6.3 respectively, p