Relationship between exercise motivation types, self-

determination and acculturation among Latinas

Amber Vermeesch, PhD, MSN, RN, FNP-C

Dissertation Committee− Victoria B. Mitrani, Ph.D.

− Nilda (Nena) Peragallo, Dr.P.H., R.N., F.A.A.N.

− Doris Ugarriza, Ph.D., A.R.N.P.

− Christine Stevens, M.P.H., Ph.D., R.N.

Funding– Sigma Theta Tau International Beta Tau Chapter Research

Grant– Florida Nurses Foundation Research Grant Program– University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies– Michigan State University College of Nursing Research Center– This study received support from, and the parent study for this

research was funded by, the Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research: El Centro, National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities grant P60MD002266

Background

• Latinas not engaging in recommended exercise

• Increased risk for obesity and related health

consequences

• Investigating the relationship between exercise motivation

types, self-determination and acculturation may increase

overall understanding of what factors may influence

exercise participation

Purpose & Significance• To investigate the relationship between exercise motivation

types, self-determination and acculturation among Latinas

• Exercise is linked with reduction in stroke, obesity, and developing weight related illness such as diabetes (CDC, 2008; Reimers, Knapp, & Reimers, 2009)

• Latinas exercise less than non-Latinas (Crespo, Smit, Andersen, Carter-Pokras, & Ainsworth, 2000).

• In general, Latinas are more likely (74%) to be overweight than non-Latina whites (57%) (National Center for Health Statistics, 2009).

Theoretical Framework:Self-Determination Theory

(Deci & Ryan, 1985)

Factors associated with self-reported exercise

Acculturation exercise (Abraido-Lanza et al. 2005;Slattery et al. 2006)

Income exercise (Crespo et al. 2001; Neighbors et al. 2008; Slattery et al. 2006)

Education exercise (Crespo et al. 2001; Neighbors et al. 2008;

Slattery et al. 2006)

# of children exercise (Crespo et al. 2001; Neighbors et al. 2008; Slattery et al. 2006)

Exercise Motivation

• Lack of motivation is reported as a major barrier to exercise (Eyler et al., 1998).

• Literature suggests women have an underlying intrinsic aspect to their exercise motivation (Frederick, Morrison, & Manning, 1996; Moreno, Cervello, & Martinez, 2007).

• The more intrinsic the motivation, the more likely to engage in and continue to exercise (Deci & Ryan, 1985).

Research Aim

To investigate the relationship between exercise motivation types, self-

determination and acculturation among Latinas in South Florida.

MethodsData was collected from 169 participants • Acculturation measures- Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics, BAS

• Demographics• Exercise motivation form - Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2)

• Self-report exercise logs & pedometers (worn for 1 week)

IRB approval was obtained

All data collection and informed consent was conducted by the researcher.

InstrumentsConstruct Variable Instrument Description Reliability/ Validity

Acculturation Proposed Predictor

BAS (Marin & Gamba, 1996)

24 items, 2 subscales; Hispanicism & Americanism

α = .86 Hispanicα = .94 Americanism (current study)

Exercise Motivation Types

Proposed Predictor

BREQ-2 (Markland & Tobin, 2004)

19 items, 5 subscales

α = .81 to α = .89 (Moreno, Cervello, & Martinez, 2007)

Exercise Primary Outcome

Pedometers

Self-report logs

Step counting device

Paper record of date, activity type, & daily step total

α = .95 (Felton, Tudor-Locke, & Burkett, 2006)Spearman’s rho self-report & pedometer,

rs = 0.607 (p = 0.003)

(Speck & Looney, 2006)

Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) (Ryan, Connell, & Grolnick, 1992):

–Assumes subscales equal continuum of self-determination–Computed from multiplying BREQ-2 weighting subscale score and summing results (Markland & Tobin, 2004)

–Index of the degree of self-determination–Physical activity was strongly associated with RAI in BREQ-2 (Markland and Ingledew (2007)

Weightings (increasing self-determination):

Amotivation -3 External -2 Introjected -1

Identified +2 Intrinsic +3

Range: -24 to 20 (Markland & Ingledew, 2007)

Inclusion & Exclusion criteria

SEPA II: • Latina• Between 18 and 50 years old• English or Spanish• Report being sexually active in the past 3 months

Additional:• Read and write in Spanish or English• No serious health problem that prohibits exercise

Recruitment

•In person during last follow-up assessment of SEPA II study and by phone

Data Analysis

SEM (Mplus version 5.21; Muthen & Muthen, 1998-2007) & SPSS (vs 18)

– Investigate the relationship among acculturation, motivation types and self-determination

– Control for demographic factors

Research Questions and Hypotheses

H1. Acculturation will predict motivation (Intrinsic and Extrinsic – e.g.External, Introjected, Identified)

H2. Acculturation will predict self-determination (RAI)

Self-determination theory(Deci & Ryan, 1985)

Sample: Demographics (N = 169)

• Mean age was 38.7 years, SD = 7.74, range from 20 to 52 years

• Average monthly income was $1400

• Mean years of education was 14.12 years, SD = 3.21

• From 16 different countries including US

• 21% did not have children

• 61% had 1 or 2 children

Results

H1. Acculturation will predict motivation (Intrinsic and Extrinsic – e.g. External, Introjected, Identified)

• H1a = Americanism domain Intrinsic & Extrinsic

Not significant predictor: Intrinsic (β = -0.02, p = .78) Extrinsic (β = -0.12, p = .20)

• H 1b = Hispanicism domain Intrinsic & Extrinsic

Not significant predictor (β = 0.07, p = .27) of Intrinsic nor Extrinsic (β = 0.17, p = .09)

Results

H2. Acculturation will predict self-determination (RAI)

• Americanism domain (β = 0.00, p = .92)

• Hispanicism domain (β = 0.00, p = .89)

• For each standard deviation change in Hispanicism domain score, there was a non-significant increase of .00 SD in the RAI score

Acculturation and Exercise

Acculturation Scores (n =174) range 1-4

BAS Mean % n

Americanism 2.35 3.5 6

Hispanicism 3.56 98 170

Pedometer means by quartiles (n = 169)

Pedometer Mean

Sample 6,685

25% 3,927

50% 6,070

75% 8,882

Results

Hypothesis Results:

Model of motivation and exercise

H2

H1

Average # of Steps

Self-determination

Motivation

Acculturation

Demographics

Exercise Motivation BREQ-2 Scores

BREQ-2 M SD Alpha

Amotivation .38 .60 .63

External Regulation .92 .89 .71

Introjected Regulation 2.14 1.26 .81

Identified Regulation 2.95 .57 .39

Intrinsic Regulation 3.28 .83 .89

Limitations

• Measure of exercise

• Selection bias of sample

• Self-reported data

• Reliability of instruments

Discussion & Implications

• Education on exercise

• Understanding Latinas’ perceptions of exercise is

imperative

• Exercise motivation is a complex issue for Latinas