TITLE:
Partnership Interacts with the Association between Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Positive Affect
AUTHORS:
Kourosh Bador, Nima Bador, Nóra Kerekes
KEYWORDS:
Leisure-Time Physical Activity, Positive Affect, Partnership, Students, Well-Being
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.7 No.6,
June
3,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Subjective well-being is a
central concept of positive psychology, and is directly coupled with a high
level of positive affect and a low level of negative affect. Positive affect is
associated with enthusiasm, activity, hope and inspiration, while negative
affect is associated with emotions such as anger, contempt, guilt, shame, fear,
anxiety, depression, and stress. Physical activity is crucial for both physical
and mental health and is positively associated with well-being. Gender and
social factors (e.g., parenthood or partnership) have complex relations with
well-being and affect. In the present study we aimed to 1) examine the
association between leisure-time physical activity and affect and 2)
investigate whether or not social factors interact with this association.
Method: The study included information from 155 Swedish university students: 64
men (mean age 23 years) and 91 women (mean age 27 years). Students were asked
to estimate their usual engagement in physical activity during their leisure-time
by responding to the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. They also
reported the level of positive and negative emotions experienced during past
weeks by completing the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule
instrument. Results: In the Swedish student population leisure-time physical
activity correlated only with positive and not with negative affect. Students’
gender, age or whether or not they had children did not influence this
association. However, this correlation differed significantly between those who
lived with a partner and those who were single. Conclusion: Leisure-time
physical activity is positively correlated with an overall subjective
well-being, and this correlation is modified by the social factor of
partnership.