Date of Award

5-2015

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Kinesiology

First Advisor

Erik Lind, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Katherine M. Polasek, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

John T. Foley, Ph.D.

Abstract

There have been numerous studies examining the association between physical activity, motivation and quality of life. In contrast, studies focusing on aerobic fitness and its relationship with levels of motivation and perceived quality of life are lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a direct measure of aerobic fitness, behavioral regulations, and perceptions of quality of life in college-aged sample. Participants included both males (n=129; 21.1±1.8 years) and females (n=89; 20.8±1.4 years) who completed the Behavioral Regulations of Exercise Questionnaire-2 sub-scores and Perceived Quality of Life (PQoL) instruments. Participants then performed the Queen’s College Step test for three minutes and recovery heart rate was assessed one minute later to determine aerobic fitness. A path analysis was used to examine the relationship between levels of Behavioral Regulation sub-scores (i.e. intrinsic regulation and identified regulation) and Perceived Quality of Life, and recovery heart rate. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. The results of this study indicated that there was no significant association between behavioral regulation sub scores and aerobic fitness. Further, there was no significant relationship between aerobic fitness and PQoL. Results also indicated that there was no significant indirect effect between measures of behavioral regulation (i.e. identified and intrinsic regulation) and PQoL. The results provide insight into the direction of future studies in regards to how cardiorespiratory fitness may be different than physical activity in improving motivation and life satisfaction within a college population.

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