Abstract

MOUTAO, João; ALVES, Susana Mendes; MONTEIRO, Diogo  and  CID, Luís. The mediating role of psychological needs in the association between the autonomy support and psychological well-being in fitness exercisers. Motri. [online]. 2015, vol.11, n.3, pp.29-40. ISSN 1646-107X.  https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.3734.

In accordance with the tenets of self-determination theory, this study aims to examine the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction in the relationship between perception on fitness instructor’s autonomy support and psychological well-being indicators, among Portuguese exercise participants at the context level of generality. Participate in this study 984 fitness exercisers, of both genders  (531 feminine; 453 masculine) with ages between 16 and 70 years old (M= 31.7; SD= 11.2), who completed measures assessing fitness instructor autonomy support perception, basic psychological need satisfaction (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and psychological well-being (subjective vitality, satisfaction with life and global self-esteem). Structural equation modeling analysis conducted support the partial mediating role of the of basic psychological needs satisfaction in the relationship between perceived autonomy support and the psychological well-being indicators. These results clarify the mechanism of psychological well-being promotion among fitness exercisers, helping in the future design of interventions in the fitness context with this purpose.

Keywords : self-determination theory; motivation; fitness instructor; health clubs.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )