The relationship between exercise dependence and the habitual exerciser population: A qualitative study
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Authors
Saucedo, Adam
Issue Date
2010
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Recent literature in sport psychology research has focused on the increased prevalence of habitual exercisers who are considered overly committed to their exercise routines, perhaps even to the level of addiction, causing detriment to their physical and psychological well-being. The majority of the studies were quantitative analyses, however more recently there has been an emergence of qualitative studies as well. This current qualitative research design examined the experience of the habitual exerciser, defined in this study as an exerciser who engages in cardiovascular activity on a consistent basis for four to five days a week, for at least 30 minutes. After completion of the Exercise Dependency Questionnaire (EDQ) (Ogden, Veale & Summers, 1997), exercise participants who scored above the mid-point (N6; 4 women, 2 men) volunteered to take part in a semi-structured interview to discuss their exercise experience. The researcher used a Grounded Theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) to analyze the data. Five categories revealed themselves through the data analysis: exercise as a lifestyle, identity, motivational factors, maintenance, and withdrawal effects. Out of the five categories, exercise as a lifestyle exposed itself as the central phenomenon, encompassing all categories and subcategories. The habitual exerciser's experience has shown to be comprised of much more than a dependency on a behavior or activity, but as a focal point of their overall lifestyle. The implications of this study include a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the experience of the habitual exerciser which can aid a sport psychology consultant in formulating an optimal and personally-tailored action plan.