Keep Calm and Remain Active: A Feasibility Study to Examine the Effect of Self-Compassion on Exercise Goal Adherence and Related Outcomes

The awareness of the health benefits of physical activity has been growing for recent decades. However, existing data indicated that 60% of the U.S. population do not meet the recommendations of physical activity (i.e., at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week or a metabolic equivalent amount of physical activity per week). Much research effort has been put forth to develop physical activity interventions but many resulted in short-term behavioral change only. It is important to develop interventions that motivate sustained physical activity. Self-compassion, a positive self-concept, has been found positively related to health behaviors in recent studies. Research also showed that self-compassion is associated to self-efficacy, autonomous motivation to exercise and weight stigma, known contributing factors of physical activity. Therefore, the present study sought to understand the role of self-compassion in exercise goal adherence and related outcomes. A brief self-compassion exercise intervention was developed based on the results of two feasibility studies. Each examined the feasibility and acceptability of a commonly used brief self-compassion intervention: (1) loving kindness meditation (feasibility study 1), and (2) self-compassion writing (feasibility study 2). In the main study, 109 participants (89 valid cases; 82% female, mean age = 21.51, SD = 4.11; mean BMI = 25.17, SD = 6.85) were recruited from the research participation pool of the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston. After completing the baseline assessment and attending the orientation session, participants were randomized into the two conditions (44 participants in the self-compassion group and 45 participants in the control group). Both groups completed 7 daily intervention sessions (each with a brief survey which tracked daily exercise goal progress and mood, and a brief writing task), and completed follow-up assessments immediately after and 1-month after the daily intervention period. They also used a pedometer application to track their step count for three consecutive weeks. In the brief writing task, participants in both groups were asked to write about (potential) barriers in pursuing their physical activity goals. The self-compassion group received additional prompts which guided them to use an accepting and self-compassionate attitude to process their experience. The hypotheses were partially supported. Results indicated that the self-compassion group reported significantly higher levels of positive self-compassion and higher intention to continue exercise goal(s) pursuit at the post-intervention assessment, compared with their control counterparts. The associations between daily exercise goal progress and daily mood (positive affect and negative affect) was weaker among the self-compassion group, compared with their control counterparts. However, no significant group differences were observed in physical activity (self-reported, step-count), exercise self-efficacy, autonomous motivation to exercise, weight stigma, physical and psychological outcomes. Overall, this study made some significant contributions to the self-compassion and physical activity literatures. It provided preliminary evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of a self-compassion exercise intervention. Future research should expand on these findings and explore the possibility of integrating self-compassion in a larger-scale physical activity intervention, and investigate potential mechanisms that were not examined in this study.