Psychological mediators of the relations between goal motives, physical activity and well-being: testing a model of path analysis
Psychological mediators of the relations between goal motives, physical activity and well-being: testing a model of path analysis
The autonomous and controlled motivations underpinning goal pursuit directly impact physical activity and mental well-being and are important for healthy behavior adherence. Psychological variables can also affect physical activity and mental well-being. This study tested the association between goal motives, psychological variables, physical activity, and mental well-being using structural equation modelling. Adults (N = 323;M age =32.46 ± 13.12 y) completed a cross-sectional survey measuring goal motives, motivation, affective experiences, self-efficacy, physical activity, and mental well-being. Our analysis showed support for the proposed model fit: (χ 2(6) = 14.16, p =.028, RMSEA =.07, CFI =.99, TLI =.97). In contrast to controlled goal motives, autonomous goal motives were positively related to the psychological variables associated with physical activity and mental well-being. Motivation and affective experiences were positively associated with physical activity. Self-efficacy was positively associated with mental well-being. Intricacies of the associations between goal motives, psychological variables, physical activity, and mental well-being are discussed.
affect, exercise, goal pursuit, motivation, self-efficacy, well-being
Garstang, Katie R.
c714ea27-54de-47e4-8fe6-5c49bf17977c
Magistro, Daniele
ab9296bc-fda6-469e-a3f8-3a574faa1b7e
Jackman, Patricia C.
4cd1ef91-96f3-4cac-979c-ed78d5ca90b6
Cooper, Simon B.
3b456854-0b8c-47d0-8e79-114e30495355
Healy, Laura C.
8950f3eb-84a5-485d-9bbb-e00ba2c7ee57
Garstang, Katie R.
c714ea27-54de-47e4-8fe6-5c49bf17977c
Magistro, Daniele
ab9296bc-fda6-469e-a3f8-3a574faa1b7e
Jackman, Patricia C.
4cd1ef91-96f3-4cac-979c-ed78d5ca90b6
Cooper, Simon B.
3b456854-0b8c-47d0-8e79-114e30495355
Healy, Laura C.
8950f3eb-84a5-485d-9bbb-e00ba2c7ee57
Garstang, Katie R., Magistro, Daniele, Jackman, Patricia C., Cooper, Simon B. and Healy, Laura C.
(2025)
Psychological mediators of the relations between goal motives, physical activity and well-being: testing a model of path analysis.
Journal of Health Psychology.
(doi:10.1177/13591053251330430).
Abstract
The autonomous and controlled motivations underpinning goal pursuit directly impact physical activity and mental well-being and are important for healthy behavior adherence. Psychological variables can also affect physical activity and mental well-being. This study tested the association between goal motives, psychological variables, physical activity, and mental well-being using structural equation modelling. Adults (N = 323;M age =32.46 ± 13.12 y) completed a cross-sectional survey measuring goal motives, motivation, affective experiences, self-efficacy, physical activity, and mental well-being. Our analysis showed support for the proposed model fit: (χ 2(6) = 14.16, p =.028, RMSEA =.07, CFI =.99, TLI =.97). In contrast to controlled goal motives, autonomous goal motives were positively related to the psychological variables associated with physical activity and mental well-being. Motivation and affective experiences were positively associated with physical activity. Self-efficacy was positively associated with mental well-being. Intricacies of the associations between goal motives, psychological variables, physical activity, and mental well-being are discussed.
Text
garstang-et-al-2025-psychological-mediators-of-the-relations-between-goal-motives-physical-activity-and-well-being
- Version of Record
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 April 2025
Keywords:
affect, exercise, goal pursuit, motivation, self-efficacy, well-being
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 506047
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506047
ISSN: 1461-7277
PURE UUID: cc1e9a4c-e8ec-4d4a-8cc6-a2622a563fca
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 28 Oct 2025 17:34
Last modified: 29 Oct 2025 03:14
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Katie R. Garstang
Author:
Daniele Magistro
Author:
Patricia C. Jackman
Author:
Simon B. Cooper
Author:
Laura C. Healy
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics