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Eating Disorders

The Effect of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Exercise Motivations and Engagement in Maladaptive Exercise

(PS6-A17) The Effect of Self-esteem on the Relationship Between Exercise Motivations and Engagement in Maladaptive Exercise

Friday, November 17, 2023
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7
Recent findings suggest that extrinsic motivations for exercise (e.g., exercising for body image or social recognition reasons) are associated with engagement in maladaptive exercise. Individual factors, such as self-esteem (i.e., one’s view of themselves and their worth/abilities), may change the association between external exercise motivations and maladaptive behavior. For example, better self-esteem  is associated with less maladaptive exercise, and may buffer against the negative effects of extrinsic exercise motivations. The current study hypothesized that self-esteem would moderate the associations between 1) motivation for improving image (e.g., to improve one’s physical appearance) and 2) motivation for social recognition (e.g., to be viewed as an exerciser by others), with compulsive exercise. A total of 441 university students (50.9% female; 67.0% White) completed measures of exercise motivations (Goal Content for Exercise Questionnaire) and compulsive exercise (Exercise and Eating Disorder Questionnaire). Hypotheses were tested in SPSS v28 using the PROCESS macro and multiple linear regressions. Contrary to hypotheses, self-esteem did not moderate the associations between motivation for improving image (p=.209) or motivation for social recognition (p=.618) and compulsive exercise. Significant main effects were observed such that motivation for improving image (b=.21 p< .001; 95% CI=.15, .26), motivation for social recognition (b=.07, p=.008; 95% CI=.02, .13), and self-esteem (b=-.02, p=.008; 95% CI=.005, .03) were all significantly associated with compulsive exercise. Engagement in compulsive exercise was related to greater extrinsic exercise motivations and poorer self-esteem. Findings suggest that low self-esteem and extrinsic motivations for exercise could be risk factors for engagement in compulsive exercise. Screening for these factors could help identify individuals who are at risk of engaging in maladaptive exercise behaviors or those presenting exercise concerns. Future research should explore factors that facilitate the relationship between self-esteem and exercise motivation with maladaptive exercise behavior. Additionally, future research should investigate the utility of including self-esteem and exercise motivations in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy targeting engagement in maladaptive exercise. 
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