Could physical activity improve healthy lifestyles and psychological well-being?

Advances*in*Social*Sciences*Research*Journal*–*Vol.1,*No.3* Publication*Date:!May!15,!2014! DOI:!10.14738/assrj.13.176! ! Garcia,!A.!J.,!Vieira,!L.!S.,!&!Rodrigues,!N.!(2014).!Could!Physical!Activity!Improve!Healthy!Lifestyles!and!Psychological!WellTBeing?,!Advances)in) Social)Sciences)Research)Journal,)1(3),!106T117! ! ! * Copyright!©!Society!for!Science!and!Education,!United!Kingdom* 106! Could&Physical&Activity&Improve&Healthy&Lifestyles&and& Psychological+Well?Being?* ! García,*A.J.* Facultad!de!Ciencias!de!la!Educación,!Dpto.!Psicología!Social,!Universidad!de!Sevilla.! alfons[email protected]' ! Vieira,*L.S.** Faculty!of!Humanities!and!Social!Sciences!of!University!of!the!Algarve! [email protected]' ! Rodrigues,*N.* Academic!Sports!Association!Office!of!University!of!the!Algarve! [email protected]' ! ABSTRACT* It*is*clear*the role that*physical activity*plays in*psychological well-being*and health. The main aim in this paper is*evaluate*the*influence*of*the*practice*of*regular*physical* activity*in*the*adoption*of*healthy*lifestyles*and*psychological*well?being,*in*a*sample*of* 183*students*of*the*University*of*the*Algarve,*94*regular*physical*activity*practitioners* and* 89* who* don´t.* For* the* collection* of* data* was* applied* a* battery* of* instruments* consisting* of* a* Demographic* Questionnaire* and* Physical* Activity;* by* the* Lifestyle* Questionnaire*(Carvalho*&*Cruz,*2006)*and*the*Ryff’s*Scales*of*Psychological*Well?being* (Fernandes,* 2007).* Our* results* show* that* the* subjects* who* practice* regular* physical* activity*adopt*healthier*lifestyles,*as*well*as*provide*superior*results*in*environmental* mastery* dimension* in* the* psychological* well?being.*The* analysis* of* the* interaction* between*the*values*of*the*lifestyle,*organized*into*three*levels,*and*the*psychological* well?being,* reveals* that* participants* with* higher* scores* present* superior* rates* of* psychological*well?being,*globally*and*in*dimensions*(environmental*mastery,*purpose* in*life*and*self?acceptance).* ! Keywords:*physical!activity,!lifestyles!and!psychological!well<being* ! INTRODUCTION* Reflex!of!the!signs!of!the!time,!our!society!is!constantly!changing,!causing!changes!in!the!quality! of!life!of!all!people.!Consequently!each!person!is,!more!comfortably,!addressed!to!risk!or!less! healthy!behaviours,!as!a!result!of!sedentary!lifestyle,!inadequate!food!choices,!and!the!lack!of! time! for! leisure.! It´s! a! priority! in! scientific! agenda! to! promote! healthier! living! habits,! in! particular! those! related! to! a! more! careful! eating! and,! especially,! the! practice! of! physical! activities,!such!as!strategies!for!improving!the!health!status!of!each!person.! ! The!definition!of!health!suffered!over!the!years!some!modifications.!Currently!health!is,!beyond! a! situation!of!absence! of! disease,! a! state! of! equilibrium! of! the! various! systems! and!the! individual!with!himself!(World!Health!Organization,!2002).!Not!being!a!very!stable!and!easy!to! reach,!it! is! evident!the! need! to! acquire,! reconstruct!and!protect!the! health!and!constantly! throughout!life!(Mota,!1995).! ! Good!physical!condition!is!interpreted!often!as!a!positive!indicator!of!health!at!that!physical! activity!plays!a! protective! role!in! relation!to! risk! factors,! current! and! future! time! for!each! ! ! ! Advances!in!Social!Sciences!Research!Journal!(ASSRJ)! Vol.1,!Issue!3,!May!<!2014! Copyright!©!Society!for!Science!and!Education,!United!Kingdom* 107! person.! Today,! there! is! ample! evidence! that!physical! activity!through!regular! and! moderate! exercise,! is! one! of! the! most! effective! strategies!to! acquire,! protect! and! maintain! health! throughout! life! (Cid.,! Silva! &! Alves,! 2007),! logo!with!undoubted!benefits!to! physical,! psychological!and!social.!Thus,!all!actions!that!might!encourage!increased!physical!activity!and! sports!practice,! constitute! valid! forms! and! with! the! potential! to! significantly! improve! the! quality!of!life!of!populations.!In!this!context,!several!studies!(e.g.,!Alves,!2005;!Berger,!Pargam! &!Weiberg.,!2002;!Biddle!&!Mutrie,!2001;!Bueno,!2002;!Buckworth!&!Dishman,!2002)!confirm! and!highlight!the!importance!of!physical!activity!in!the!development!of!healthy!lifestyles!and! well<being!of!people!in!all!ages.! ! The!relevance!of!this!study!arises!from!the!growing!interest!in!research!in!this!area,!which!led! International! Society! of!Sport!Psychology,! to! publish!a! special! issue!in! 1992,! relating! to! physical!activity!and!psychological!benefits.!In!this!publication!it!is!stated!that!physical!activity! is! generally! associated!in! the! long! term,! to! a! reduction! in! levels! of!anxiety! and!stress,! to! decrease!depression,! increase! self<esteem!and! how! to!factor! positive! emotional! effects! producer.! Nevertheless,! the! knowledge!spread!positive! health!effects!that! regular!physical! activity!may!increase,!an!overwhelming!percentage!of!the!population!in!industrialized!societies! are!sedentary!(ie!about!70%)!or!abandon!the!practice!in!the!first!six!months!(ie!about!50%),! implying!that!these!benefits!are!not!sufficient!reasons!to!undertake!physical!activity!(Cid!et!al.,! 2007).!In!summary,!it!is!curious!to!note!the!plethora!of!health!problems,!which!usually!struggle! with!people!living!in!more!developed!countries.! ! Considering!the!importance!of!the!adoption!of!health!behaviors!at!younger!ages,!to!promote! health!at! older! ages,! the!literature! has! demonstrated!the! central! role!of! lifestyles!in! the! adoption! of!health! behaviors,! and! the!psychological! well<being!describes! the!positive! psychological! functioning,! put!up!the! following!question:!the! practice! of!regular! physical! activity!is!positively! associated! with!psychological! well<being!and! the! adoption! of!healthy! lifestyles!of!students!in!portuguese!higher!education?! ! Physical!activity!is!defined!as!any!bodily!movement!produced!by!skeletal!muscle!that!results!in! increased!energy!expenditure!above!resting!level,!constituting!a!complex!and!dynamic!process.! During!life,!the!individual!goes!through!phases!that!show!different!levels!of!physical!activity,! determined! by! several! factors! (Caspersen,! Powell!&!Christenson,! 1985).! Shepard!(2003),! recognizes!that!the!consensus!around!the!definition!of!terminology!is!recent!physical!activity! and!highlights!that!it!undertakes!all!kinds!of!muscle!activity!that!substantially!enhance!energy! expenditure.! Thus,! exercise! is!a! subcategory!of! regular! physical! activity,! structured! and! repeated,! deliberately!and!executed!with!the! specific! purpose! of! improving! some! aspect!of! health!or!preparation,!improvement!or!maintenance!of!athletic!competence!(Delgado,!2006).! Therefore,!exercise! is!repeated! and!stereotyped!physical! activities,! aimed! at! achieving! a! concrete! goal,! therapeutic!or! physical! condition.! For! instance,! we! can! speak! of! abdominal! exercises,!physical!therapy!exercises,!exercises!to!prepare!for!childbirth!exercises!to!acquire!a! given!technique,!strengthening!exercises!member!had!surgery,!among!others.! ! According! to! Delgado!(2006),! sport! is! also! considered!a! subcategory!of! physical! activity,! specialized,! competitive! nature! and! that!requires!physical! training,! regulated!by!institutions! and! with! the! main! objective,! not! to! improve! or! maintain! health,! but! with!intended! to! competition.! ! So!the!practice!of!sport!activity!involves!competition,!between!teams!or!individually,!in!dispute! with! others!or! to! himself.! This!conception!of!sport! activity!applies!to! both! the!recreational! sport!as!the!competition,!be!it!amateur!or!professional.!These!scenarios!also!include!rules!that! Garcia,!A.!J.,!Vieira,!L.!S.,!&!Rodrigues,!N.!(2014).!Could!Physical!Activity!Improve!Healthy!Lifestyles!and!Psychological!WellTBeing?,!Advances)in)Social)Sciences)Research) Journal,)1(3),!106T117) ! ! ! URL:*http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.13.176* 108! define!your!practice!and!goals!to!achieve,!there!are!winners!and!losers!(and!often!draws).!In! the!context!of!this!research!we!adopt!the!concept!of!physical!activity!defined!as!any!muscle!or! motor! activity! that! a! person! performs,! or! any! action! that! involves! movement,! strength! and! posture! maintenance.! We! also! felt! that! this! action! is! considered! regular! when! implies! a! frequency!of!at!least!twice!weekly.! ! The!lifestyles!are! described! as!patterns! of!behavior,! habits,! attitudes!and! values!that! are! relatively! stable!typical!of! a! particular!group! or!person! (Matos,! Simoes,! Canha,! &! Fonseca,! 2000).!For!the!World!Health!Organization!(1993),!the!lifestyles!are!associated!with!values,!the! motivations,!opportunities,!and!also!the!specific!issues!related!to!cultural,!social!and!economic.! According!to!Matos!(2005)!there!is!not!just!one!but!several!types!of!healthy!life.!The!variety!of! styles!is! established!according!to! the!group! where!the! individual! is! inserted!and! their! own! individual!characteristics.! ! The!literature!has!emphasized!the!importance!of!lifestyle!to!health,!given!the!importance!that! the! adoption!of! certain!patterns! of! behavior!can! have! on!disease! prevention!and! health! promotion! (Pais! &! Cabral,! 2003).! These! patterns!contribute!to!several! factors,! such! as!diet,! exercise,!tobacco!use,!alcohol!and!drug!use,!risky!sexual!behavior,!among!others,!which!form! an!integrated!whole!that!is,!probabilistically!associated,!to!a!greater!or!less!likely!to!suffer!from! a!disease!and!also!to!survive!since!patient!(Matos!et!al.,!2000).! ! The!concern!with!the!inclusion!of!physical!activity!in!lifestyles!is!based,!fundamentally,!on!the! supposed!benefits!this!could!have!for!health!and!especially!the!fact!that!it!is!now!recognized! that!no!physical!activity!is!a!risk!factor!for!health!(Matos!&!Sardinha,!1999;!Matos,!Carvalhosa! &! Diniz,! 2001).! Since! mode,! and! according! to!Torre!(1998),! physical! activity! should! be! considered!as!a!critical!component!of!a!healthy!lifestyle,!to!the!extent!that!the!realization!of! systematic! physical! activity! and! with! some! intensity! is! a! protective! factor!of!health! and! prevention! of!various!disorders!thereof! by! the! important! physiological! and! psychological! benefits!associated!with!exercise.!In!short,!maintaining!an!active!lifestyle!should!be!understood! as!one!of!the!keys!to!a!healthy!aging!(IDP<LVAP,!2011).! ! As!regard!to!the!concept!of!well<being,!several!authors!in!recent!years,!through!their!research,! were!able!to!install!it!in!the!scientific!field!of!psychology,!and!to!assign!specific!psychological! meaning!and!transform!it,!into!a!more!emphatically!discussed!the!constructs!and!invested!in! understanding!the!quality!of!life!and!healthy!living.!The!construct!of!Psychological!Well<Being! described!by!Carol!Ryff!(1989),!advocates!a!multidimensional!model!of!positive!psychological! functioning!consisted! by! six! dimensions! (autonomy,! environment! mastery,! personal! growth,! positive! relations!with! others,! purpose! in! life!and!self<acceptance).!For! its! formulation,! the! author!searched!in!modern!currents!of!Psychology,!linked!to!development,!clinical!and!mental! health,!the!crucial!elements!that!could!best!describe!the!well<being!as!an!expression!of!positive! psychological! functioning! (Ryff! &! Keys,!1995).! For!Fernandes!(2007),!the! construct!thus! defined,! the! dimensions! agree!obtained! from! the! analysis! of! the! convergence! of!existing! theories!about! the! functioning!positive! psychological!and! since! its! formulation! as! claimed! diverse,!and!alternative,!however,!the!formulations!coexistent!wellness!previously!developed! (eg,!Diener,!1984;!Warr,!1978,!1990).! ! There!is!scientific!evidence!that!regular!physical!activity!has!unquestionable!benefits!for!the! physical! and! psychological! health!that,! in! turn,! cause! a! significant! impact! on! the!general! welfare!of!the!subject!at!all!ages!(e.g.,!Cid!et!al.,!2007!).! ! ! ! Advances!in!Social!Sciences!Research!Journal!(ASSRJ)! Vol.1,!Issue!3,!May!<!2014! Copyright!©!Society!for!Science!and!Education,!United!Kingdom* 109! On!the!other!hand,!the!demand!for!well<being!and!emotional!balance,!makes!more!and!more! people!subscribe!to!physical! activity.! These! behaviors!are! consistent! with!approaches! that! emphasize!the!importance!of!physical!activity!on!mental!health,!especially!those!resulting!from! physical! exercise!and! improved! physical! condition,!leading!to!feelings! of!psychological! well< being!(Cruz,!Machado!&!Mota,!1996).! ! Considering!the!review!that!we!made,!where!it!was!clear!the!role!that!physical!activity!plays!in! psychological!well<being!and!health,!it!seems!justified!that!studies!the!relationships!of!these! dimensions!in!a!population!of!higher!education,!which!aims!to!identify!the!healthy!behaviors! and!indicators!of!possible!better!health!at!older!ages.!The!characteristics!of!this!population!and! the!meaning!of!the!construct!lifestyles!justify,!further!work!to!assess!the!extent!to!which!these! students!physical!activity!may!be!associated!with!the!adoption!of!certain!lifestyles.! ! We!present!five!goals!that!we!propose!to!answer!in!this!research:! o Describe!the!contents!of!lifestyles!and!psychological!well<being!of!study!participants.! o Assess! why!practitioners! of!regular! exercise!have! better!lifestyles! more! positive! and! more!positive!indices!of!psychological!well<being.! o Verify!why!the!psychological!well<being!varies!in!function!of!different!class!lifestyles.! o Assess!why!scores!of!lifestyles!and!psychological!well<being!depending!on!the!pattern!of! physical!activity.! o Analyze!the!relationship!between!lifestyles!and!psychological!well<being!in!individuals! practicing!and!non<tracticing!regular!physical!activity.! ! METHOD* Participants* The!sample!of!this!research!consisted!of!183!students!enrolled!at!the!University!of!Algarve,!in! the! academic! year! 2011/2012,! 95! (52%)! female! and! 88! (48%)! of! males.! Their! ages!are! between!18! and!38! years,! with! a! mean! age!of!22.15! years!for!a! standard! deviation!of! 3.58! years.! ! The! sample! is! composed! of! 35!representatives!of! the! Algarve! University! courses,! and! the! courses! in!Psychology!and! Sport!are! the! most! representative,! each!contributing!21! (11.5%)! participants.!For!the!academic!degree!the!sample!includes!162!(88.5%)!students!attending!a! course!in!Degree!and!21!(11.5%)!studying!in!a!Master!course.! ! Regarding!the!manner!of!daily!travel!between!home!and!the!University!we!check,!that!most!of! the!participants!moving!in!own!car!(n!=!80;!43.7%),!followed!by!those!who!move!on!foot!(n!=! 55;!30.1!%)!and!23.5%!(n!=!43)!in!public!transport.!Of!the!remainder,!only!one!refers!to!move! by!bicycle.!Crossing!the!variables!means!of!travel!with!regular!physical!activity,!it!appears!that! the!percentage!of!students!who!move!on!foot!to!university!is!about!the!same!among!those!who! practice!or!not!practice.!We!found!identical!distribution!when!referring!to!movements!in!own! car!and!public!transport.! ! Regarding!the!characteristics!related!to!physical!activity!shows!that!the!majority!of!students!(n! =! 94;! 51.4%)! said!that! practice! regular!physical! activity,! while!48.6%!(n! =! 89)!declares!not! practice.!The!crossing!of!the!variables!gender!and!found!that!regular!physical!activity,!57.9%!of! participants!in!males!and!45.3%!of!females!participating!in!regular!physical!activity.! ! From! the! analysis! of! sample! data,! we! did! not! identify!a! type! of!regular! physical! activity! dominant.! Participants!distribute! their!interests!in! physical! activity! for!very! different! Garcia,!A.!J.,!Vieira,!L.!S.,!&!Rodrigues,!N.!(2014).!Could!Physical!Activity!Improve!Healthy!Lifestyles!and!Psychological!WellTBeing?,!Advances)in)Social)Sciences)Research) Journal,)1(3),!106T117) ! ! ! URL:*http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.13.176* 110! modalities.!However,!Football!with!14!(7.7%)! and! Futsal!11! (6%)! form!the!modalities!more! marked.! ! Instruments* We!applied!a!set!of!specific!measures!to!collect!specific!information!about!physical!activity,!life! styles!and!psychological!well<being,!in!addition!to!demographic!data!to!characterize!the!nature! of!the!sample,!which!we!present!in!detail.!To!collect!data!from!a!demographic!questionnaire! which!was!applied!requested!information!about!age,!gender,!and!education!degree!course,!as! well! as! other! indicators! related! to! mobility! of! individuals!between! their! home! during! the! classes!and!the!university,!in!particular!through!displacement!used!and!the!distance!between! two!places.! ! The!questions!related!to!physical!activity!were!drawn!from!an!original!questionnaire!of!Neto! (1994).!In!it!were!considered!questions!that!assessed!the!physical!activity,!including!frequency! and! type! of!weekly!physical! activity,! in! this! instrument! was!also!requested! information! on! participation!in!sporting!competitions!and!for!the!pattern!of!physical!activity,!percecionado!by! the! subject,! with! the! reference!standard! moderate! physical! activity,! solved!based! on! international!guidelines!for!regular!physical!activity,!which!suggests!that!this!is!performed!for! at!least!30!minutes!with!moderate!intensity,!with!a!frequency!of!5!or!more!times!week.! ! The!Lifestyle'Questionnaire![Questionário!de!Estilos!de!Vida;!QEV]!from!Carvalho!&!Cruz!(2006)! was! the! instrument! used! to! assess! the! lifestyles!of! the! study! participants.! It's! a!one<factor! questionnaire!consisting! of! 31! items,! designed! to! measure! the! quality!of! certain!behavior,! through! the! manifestation! of! the!answer! choice!in! five! different!alternatives,! a! Likert! scale! consisting!of!five!degrees,!from!one!point!to!five!points!for!Never!always.!These!items!assess! the! quality!of! lifestyle!of! individuals! in! various! dimensions! of! life,! such! as!eating! habits,! sleeping!habits,!consumption!of!licit!and!illicit!substances,!physical!activity,!sexual!behavior,! safety!behaviors,!and!social!integration!social!support,!and!consumption!of!culture.! ! To!evaluate!well<being,!we!used!a!shortened!version!of!the!30! items!Scales!of!Psychological! Well<being!(SPWB)!of!Ryff,!adapted!for!the!Portuguese!population!by!Fernandes!(2007).!This! version!integrates!six!independent!scales!consist! of!indicators!for! each! of! the!dimensions!of! wellness! model! Carol!Ryff.! The! participant!is! asked!to! express!their! level! of! agreement! or! disagreement!with!each!of!the!statements!in!a!Likert!scale!of!five!points!(1!=!strongly!disagree! to!5!=!strongly!agree).!The!total!score!for!each!group!of!items!allows!analyzing!the!index!of!well! being! in! each! dimension,! while! the! addition!of!six!partial!scores!gives! rise,! according! to! Fernandes!(2007)!the!indicator!of!overall!psychological!well<being.! ! Procedures* The!sample!was!obtained!by!convenience!sampling!method!and!not!random,!there!is!concern! that!it!was!homogeneous,!the!distribution!of!participants!in!relation!to!gender!and!practice!(or! not)!of!regular!physical!activity.!All!participants!were!students!at!the!University!of!Algarve!and! expressed!their!willingness!for!informed!consent!to!participate!in!the!study.! ! The!collected!data!were!treated!statistically!and!organized!by!the!Statistical!Package!for!Social! Sciences!(SPSS!<! version!18)!for!Windows.!The!data!collected!were!subjected!to!exploratory! analyzes,!descriptive!and!correlational,!to!achieve!the!goals!of!this!research,!and!has!assumed!a! significance!level!of!95%,!since!it!is!the!value!used!in!scientific!investigations!in!this!area.!In! particular,! regarding! the!statistical! treatment,! we! used! descriptive! statistics!to! present! the! results! of!different! statistical! parameters! considered! (eg,! mean! and! standard! deviation!for! ! ! ! Advances!in!Social!Sciences!Research!Journal!(ASSRJ)! Vol.1,!Issue!3,!May!<!2014! Copyright!©!Society!for!Science!and!Education,!United!Kingdom* 111! numerical! variables! and! frequency!and!percentage! values!for! the!respective!variables!in! nominal!scale).!In!order!to!analyze!the!differences!between!groups,!the!various!independent! variables,!we!turn!to!inferential!statistics,!including!variance!analysis!by!One!Way!ANOVA!and! T<test.! ! RESULTS* In!Table1,!we!present!the!mean,!standard!deviation,!maximum!and!minimum!of!the!variables! of!lifestyles!and!psychological!well<being.!We!observed!that!the!results!obtained!in!items!QEV! have!an!average!overall!115.64!(SD!=!12.63)!and!with!the!values!vary!between!a!minimum!75! and!a!maximum!of!144.!Note!that!these!values!are!very!similar!to!those!observed!in!the!study! instrument!validation!(Cruz!&!Carvalho,!2006),!with!a!sample!of!514!participants.! ! *Table*1*Descriptive*analysis*of*sample*results*in*scales*QEV*and*SPWB.* Variables Mean Standard Deviation Minimum Maximum Lifestyles 115.64 12.63 75 144 Overall PWB 116.92 11.12 62 142 Autonomy 18.96 2.91 10 25 Environment Mastery 18.00 2.42 10 25 Personal Growth 21.47 2.32 12 25 Positive Relationships with Others 19.91 2.61 7 25 Purpose in Life 18.99 3.08 11 25 Self-Acceptance 19.59 2.90 8 25 Secondly,!we!observe!that!the!results!obtained!by!participants!in!the!variables!of!psychological! well<being! (PWB)! are! tend! to! score! closer! to! the! maximum! that! was! possible.! Even! the! maximum!theoretical!variance!is!achieved!in!the!six!dimensions!of!PWB.!The!two!dimensions! that!have!lower!minimum! results!are!positive!relationships!with!others! and!self<acceptance.! The!highest!mean!score!is!obtained!in!the!size!of!personal!growth!(M!=!21.47,!SD!=!2.32)!and! lowest!in!environment!mastery!dimension!(M!=!18.00,!SD!=!2.42).!As!global!wellness!has!an! average!score!of!116.92!(SD!=!11.12),!for!a!minimum!62!and!a!maximum!value!of!142.! ! Comparing!the!results!obtained!by!our!sample!with!the!results!observed!in!the!validation!study! of!the!reduced!version!of!the!SPWB,!we!find!the!average!measure!of!overall!psychological!well< being! of! the! participants! in! our! study! is! slightly! higher! than! that! observed! by! Fernandes! (2007),!116.9!against!115.3.!Identical!result!is!observed!in!the!dimensions!of!personal!growth! and!life!goals,!while!the!values!are!slightly!lower!in!our!study!participants!on!the!dimensions!of! autonomy!and!the!environment!mastery.! ! Aiming!to!verify!the!extent!to!which!different!levels!of!lifestyles!influence!and!interact!with!the! psychological! well<being,! we! divide! the! total! results! in! QEV! into! three! different! groups.! We! considered! that! the! group! with! results! below! 100! points! corresponds! to! the! low! level;! the! group! with! scores! between! 110! and! 125! points! corresponds! to! the! medium! level;! and! the! group!results!with!more!than!125!points!with!high,!the!highest!level!of!lifestyles.!The!Table!2! shows! the! distribution! of! the! results! of! psychological! well<being! in! terms! of! three! levels! of! Lifestyles.! Overall,! we! can! see! that! the! highest!values! of! the! variables! of! psychological! well< being!are!in!marked!tend!representative!group!of!lifestyle!considered!more!healthy.! ! In!detail!we!can!see!that!the!group!of!participants!with!the!highest!score!in!lifestyles!(over!125! points)! presents! higher! scores! on! the! global! measure! (M! =! 123.00,! SD! =! 10.40)! and! in! all! dimensions! of! psychological! well<being! <! autonomy! (M! =! 19.4,;! SD! =! 2.84),! the! environment! mastery!(M!=!19.05,!SD!=!2.08),!the!positive!relations!with!others!(M!=!20.56;!SD!=!2.61),!the! Garcia,!A.!J.,!Vieira,!L.!S.,!&!Rodrigues,!N.!(2014).!Could!Physical!Activity!Improve!Healthy!Lifestyles!and!Psychological!WellTBeing?,!Advances)in)Social)Sciences)Research) Journal,)1(3),!106T117) ! ! ! URL:*http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.13.176* 112! purpose!in!life!(M!=!21.15,!SD!=!2.26)!and!self<acceptance!(M!=!20.74,!SD!=!2.82)!<!except!for! the!dimension!of!personal!growth,!in!which!the!highest!value!is!observed!in!the!intermediate! group!(M!=!21.40,!SD!=!1.90).* * Table*2:*Mean,*standard*deviation*and*variance*analysis*of*results*of*psychological*well?being*in* terms*of*three*levels*of*scores*in*lifestyles.* PWB Total scores in QEV Below 110 points (n = 36) Between points 110 and 125 (n = 98) Over 125 points (n = 39) M SD M SD M SD F p Overall PWB 113.41 13.97 116.15 8.82 123 10.40 9.149 .000 Autonomy 18.78 3.50 18.84 2.63 19.49 2.84 .807 .448 Environment Mastery 17.20 2.75 17.96 2.24 19.05 2.08 6.606 .002 Personal Growth 21.15 3.08 21.40 1.90 22,03 2.23 1.598 .205 Positive Relationships with Others 19.63 3.51 19.79 2.05 20.56 2.61 1.604 .204 Purpose in Life 17.80 3.07 18.69 2.97 21.15 2.26 15.568 .000 Self-Acceptance 18.85 3.66 19.48 2.36 20.74 2.82 4.862 .009 ! The! comparative! analysis! of! the! means! and! standard! deviations,! by! applying! the! One! Way! ANOVA! test,! confirms! the! existence! of! statistically! significant! differences! in! overall! psychological!well<being!(F!=!9.149,!p!≤!.000),!the!environment!mastery!(F!=!6.606,!p!≤!.000),! the! dimension! of! life! goals! (F! =! 15.568,! p! ≤! .000)! and! in! dimension! of! self<acceptance! (F! =! 4.862,!p'=!.009).! ! Using! the! contrast! method! for! multiple! comparisons,! Bonferroni! test,! we! found! significant! differences!at!p!<!.05!in!all!possible!dimensions!and!in!all!cases!in!favor!of!the!representative! group!of!lifestyles!with!higher!score.!Specifically,!the!dimensions!of!the!field!of!environment!(p! =!.001;!p!=!.045),!goals!of!life!(p!≤!.000;!p!≤!.000)!and!overall!measure!of!psychological!well< being!(p!≤!.000;!p!=!.002)!between!the!representative!group!of!lifestyles!with!the!highest!score! and!the!other!two!groups!(respectively,!below!110!points,!and!between!110!and!125!points).!In! the! dimension! of! self<acceptance! among! the! representative! group! of! lifestyles! with! higher! score!and!representative!group!index!lifestyles!lower!(p'=!.007).! ! In!the!Table!3!is!presented!the!distribution!of!results!in!psychological!measures!studied!as!a! function! of! practice,! or! not! in! regular! physical! activity.! Overall,! we! found! that! participants! practicing!regular!physical!activity!have!higher!scores!on!the!variables!of!psychological!well< being!and!lifestyles,!compared!to!participants!who!do!not!practice.! ! Table*3:*Mean,*standard*deviation*and*variance*analysis*results*in*lifestyles*and*psychological* measures*in*the*light*of*regular*physical*activity*(RPA).* Variables / Dimensions Practice RPA (n=94) Does not practice RPA (n=89) Variance M SD M SD t-test p Lifestyles Overall PWB Autonomy Environment Mastery Personal Growth Positive relationships Purpose in Life Self-Acceptance 119.73 118.10 18.95 18.50 21.69 19.9 19.27 19.82 10.82 11.87 3.02 2.44 2.31 2.8 3.02 3.07 111.31 115.68 18.98 17.47 21.24 19.9 18.71 19.35 13.01 10.19 2.82 2.30 2.33 2.3 3.14 2.69 4.767 1.476 - .071 2.929 1.326 - .157 1.222 1.099 .000 .142 .944 .004 .186 .876 .223 .273 Abbreviations: RPA - regular physical activity ! ! ! Advances!in!Social!Sciences!Research!Journal!(ASSRJ)! Vol.1,!Issue!3,!May!<!2014! Copyright!©!Society!for!Science!and!Education,!United!Kingdom* 113! However,! the! comparative! analysis! of! values! for! physical! activity,! by! applying! the! t<test,! we! found!only!two!statistically!significant!at!p!<!.05,!favorable!to!participants!practicing!regular! physical! activity.! A! measure! of! the! lifestyles! (t! =! 4.676,! p!≤! 0.000)! and! another! in! the! environment!mastery!dimension!(t!=!2.929,!p!=!.004)!of!psychological!well<being,! ! Although!variations!between!those!who!practice!regular!physical!activity!and!those!who!do!not! practice,! they! are! not! very! expressive,! and! therefore! not! statistically! significant! (except! environment!mastery,!cited!above),!we!should!not!underestimate!the!tendency!for!an!average! superiority!of!those!who!practice!activity!physical!regularly,!either!in!overall!PWB!or!most!of! its!dimensions.! ! Cid! et! al.! (2007)! reported! that,! nowadays,! there! is! ample! scientific! evidence! that! regular! physical!activity!has!unquestionable!benefits!for!the!physical!and!psychological!health,!which! in!turn!are!causing!a!significant!impact!on!the!welfare!Overview!of!the!subject,!regardless!of! age.!Moreover,! Brownell! (1995),! states! that,! besides! the! physiological! benefits,! exercise! generates!positive!psychological!effects!such!as!improved!mood!state,!reduce!stress,!increase! self<esteem! due! to! improved! self<efficacy! and! cognitive! schemes! that! favor! reasoning! optimistic.! ! Our!study!is!based!on!the!relationship!between!three!sets!of!variables:!the!practice!of!regular! physical!activity,!life!styles!and!psychological!well<being,!together!with!its!various!dimensions.! As!such,!the!study!of!the!correlations!of!these!variables!it!is!essential!to!try!to!be!able!to!better! understand! the! nature! and! magnitude! of! the! associations! between! these! measures! in! our! sample.! ! Continuing!the!analysis!of!results,!we!consider!necessary!to!assess!the!associations!between! variables!under!study,!even!at!the!level!of!its!dimensions.!Accordingly,!we!used!the!Pearson! correlation!coefficients,!since!these!ratios!reflect!different!degrees!of!association!and!allow!us! clarify!the!characteristics!of!the!relationships!observed.! ! By!reading!table!4!we!verified!that!for!the!group!of!participants!in!the!sample!who!claims!to! practice! regular! physical! activity,! the! variable! lifestyles! presents! moderate! correlation! coefficients!with!the!dimension!of!purpose!in!life!(r!=!.49,!p!≤!.000)!,!and!with!the!weak!overall! PWB!(r!=!.35,!p!=!.001)!and!with!dimensions:!environment!mastery!(r!=!.20,!p!=!.049),!positive! relations! with! others! (r! =! .23,! p!=! .024)! and! self<acceptance! (r! =! .24,! p'=! .020).! In! terms! of! relationships! between! the! various! dimensions! of! psychological! well<being! found! that* associations!go!in!the!expected!direction,!however,!with!some!higher!intensity!in!the!sample!of! practicing!regular!physical!activity.! ! In!particular,!we!note!the!following:!the!extent!of!autonomy!has!strong!correlations!with!the! overall!PWB!(r!=!.68,!p!≤!.000),!with!moderate!dimensions!self<acceptance!(r!=!.56,!p!≤!.000!),! the*environment!mastery(r!=!.50,!p!≤!.000),!personal!growth!(r!=!.41,!p!≤!.000)!and!weakly!with! purpose!in!life!scale!(r!=!.28,!p!=!.006);!the!size!of!the!field!of!medium!correlates!strongly!with! the!overall!PWB!(r!=!.78,!p!≤!.000)!and!with!the!self<acceptance!dimension!(r!=!.64,!p!≤!.000)! and!moderately!with!personal!growth!(r!=!.56,!p'≤!.000)!and!purpose!in!life!(r!=!.50,'p!≤!.000).,! the!dimension!of!personal!growth!correlates!strongly!with!the!overall!PWB!(r!=!.73,!p!≤!.000),! moderately!with!self<acceptance!(r!=!.52,!p!≤!.000)!and!positive!relationships!with!others!(r!=! .40,!p!=!.024)!and!with!low!intensity!with!purpose!in!life!(r!=!.32,!p!=!.002),!the!magnitude!of! positive!relationships!with!other!correlates!moderately!with!the!overall!PWB!(r!=!.52,!p!≤!.000)! and!with!weak!intensity!with!the!purpose!in!life!(r!=!.27,!p!=!.009)!and!self<acceptance!(r!=!.26,! p!=!.012),!the!size!of!the!purpose!in!life!correlates!strongly!with!the!overall!PWB!(r!=!.70!,'p!≤! Garcia,!A.!J.,!Vieira,!L.!S.,!&!Rodrigues,!N.!(2014).!Could!Physical!Activity!Improve!Healthy!Lifestyles!and!Psychological!WellTBeing?,!Advances)in)Social)Sciences)Research) Journal,)1(3),!106T117) ! ! ! URL:*http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.13.176* 114! .000)!and!moderately!with!self<acceptance!(r!=!.57,!p!≤!.000),!and!the!extent!of!self<acceptance! is!correlated!with!a!coefficient!very!strong!with!the!overall!PWB!(r!=!.84,!p!≤.!000).! * In!the!analysis!of!the!same!table,!but!now!as!to!the!results!obtained!by!participants!who!do!not! practice!regular!physical!activity,!the!overall!PWB,!nevertheless!correlate!strongly!with!all!its! dimensions,!but!this!has!not!made!a!significant!association!with!the!lifestyles!what!happens,! and! also! individually! with! each! of! the! dimensions! of! psychological! well<being,! with! the! exception! of! the! relationship! of! purpose! in! life! (r! =! .27,! p! =.! 009)! with! the! lifestyles.! The! dimension! of! self<acceptance! is! a! behavior! similar! to! that! observed! in! the! overall! PWB.! All! other!dimensions!of!the!PWB!show!a!general!reduction!in!correlation!coefficients!between!the! different! dimensions! of! the! PWB,! despite! some! associations! continue! to! show! statistically! significant!coefficients!with!indices.! ! Table*4:*Matrix*of*correlations*between*variables*of*the*psychological*well?being*and*the* lifestyles:*the*relations*in*the*sample*of*practitioners*of*regular*physical*activity*and*non? practitioners.* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. Lifestyles - 0.18 .20* .11 .23* .49*** .24* .35** 2. AU -.00 - .50*** .41*** .12 .28** .56*** .68*** 3. EM .11 .18 - .56*** .18 .50*** .64*** .78*** 4. PG .12 .29* .22* - .40*** .32** .52*** .73*** 5. PR .04 .03 .29** .28** - .27** .26** .52*** 6. PL .27* .15 .40*** .34** .26* - .57*** .70*** 7. SA .19 .36*** .48*** .50*** .38*** .48*** - .84*** 8.*Overall PWB* .20 .53*** .64*** .66*** .54*** .70*** .82*** - *P<0.05; **P<0,01; ***P<0.001 Abbreviations: Lifestyles = total scale lifestyles; dimension AU = autonomy; EM = Environment Mastery; PG = personal growth, PR = positive relations; PL = Purpose in life; SA = self-acceptance; Overall PWB = total scale psychological well-being. Note.!Practice Physical Activity Regular: n = 94; Not Practice Physical Activity Regular: n = 89 Correlations of Sample Practitioners of regular physical activity are shown above the diagonal. Correlations of the non-practitioners group are shown below the diagonal. ! Table!5!shows!the!means!and!standard!deviations!of!the!results!by!standard!physical!activity.! We!distribute!participants'!responses!into!four!groups:!the!group!of!participants!who!did!not! perform!physical!activity!or!intends!to!do!so,!the!group!of!participants!who!do!not!realize!but! ponders!come!to!perform,!the!group!of!participants!who!already!perform!a!physical!activity! but!so!casual,!and!the!group!of!participants!who!have!regular!physical!activity.! ! Looking!at!Table!5,!we!note!regarding!the!relationship!between!physical!activity!pattern!above! and! the! average! value! achieved! in! lifestyles,! it! grows! depending! on! the! pattern! of! physical! activity!requires!greater! amounts! of!physical!activity.! It! is!observed!that! the!lowest! value!is! recorded!by!students!who!said!they!did!not!carry!out!any!physical!activity!nor!intend!to!come! to! realize! it! (M! =! 108.50,! SD! =! 14.75)! and! the! highest! for! the! group! of! students! who! said! physical! activity! regularly! (M! =! 122.19,! SD! =! 10.34).! The! application! of! parametric! test! One! way! ANOVA! confirms! the! statistically! significant! difference! between! these! variables! (F! =! 10.398,!p!≤!0.000).!Using!the!contrast!test!for!multiple! comparisons! Tukey! HSD,! in! order! to! verify! the! relationships! of!the! different! possibilities,! we! realized! that! whoever! does! not! practice!and!does!not!intend!to!come!practice!any!physical!activity!have!statistically!significant! differences!in!the!results!of!lifestyles,!who!performs!occasionally!(p!=!.034)!and!for!those!who! regularly!performs!(p'≤!.000)! *