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Habit change is often seen as key to successful long‐term behaviour change. Making 'good' behaviours habitual—that is, ensuring a behaviour is prompted automatically on exposure to situational cues, based on cue‐response associations learnt through context‐consistent repetition—is portrayed as a mechanism for sustaining such behaviours over time. Conversely, disrupting 'bad' habits is expected to terminate longstanding unwanted actions. Yet, some commentators have suggested that the role of habit in real‐world behaviour and behaviour change has been overstated. Such critiques highlight a gap between habit theory and the reality of human behaviour 'in the wild'. This state‐of‐the‐field review aims to narrow this gap. Building on a core distinction between habit and habitual behaviour, our review seeks to offer interpretations of habit theory and evidence that will better manage intervention designers' expectations regarding how modifying habit can realistically be expected to promote behaviour change. We emphasise that habit is just one potential influence on behaviour at any given moment, and highlight instances in which habit may dominate over intention, and in which intention may dominate over habit, in determining behaviour frequency. We suggest that, while it may assist behaviour maintenance, habit formation may be neither necessary nor sufficient to sustain real‐world behaviour change. We draw attention to the various ways in which habit may be 'broken' (i.e., disrupted), and discern the implications of each habit disruption mechanism for long‐term cessation of unwanted behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective Methods and Measures Results Conclusion Action planning is a common approach used in physical activity interventions. The aim of this study was to assess the association of frequency, consistency and content of action planning with physical activity behaviour, intention strength and habit strength.Within a 3-month web-based, computer-tailored physical activity intervention, participants (N = 115; 68.7% female, M age =43.9; range = 22–73 years) could create 6 rounds of action plans for 4 activities each (24 total).Consistency of action planning during the intervention was associated with change in physical activity at 9-months, and intention and habit strength at 3-months and 9-months. Frequency of action planning was negatively associated with intention at 3-months and 9-months. The effect of action planning consistency on physical activity behaviour was no longer significant when accounting for change in intention and habit strength.Consistency of how, where, when and with whom people plan their physical activity may translate into stronger physical activity habits. Interventions should avoid encouraging making many distinct action plans, but rather encourage stable contexts through consistent action planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic saw promotion of novel virus transmission-reduction behaviours, and discouragement of familiar transmission-conducive behaviours. Understanding changes in the automatic nature of such behaviours is important, because habitual behaviours may be more easily reactivated in future outbreaks and disrupting old habits may discontinue unwanted behaviours. A repeated-measures, multi-national design tracked virus-transmission habits and behaviour fortnightly over six months (Apr–Sept 2020) among 517 participants (age M = 42 ± 16y, 79% female). Within-participant habit trajectories across all timepoints, and engagement in transmission-reduction behaviours (handwashing when entering home; handwashing with soap for 20 seconds; physical distancing) and transmission-conducive behaviours (coughing/sneezing into hands; making physical contact) summed over the final two timepoints. Three habit trajectory types were observed. Habits that remained strong ('stable strong habit') and habits that strengthened ('habit formation') were most common for transmission-reduction behaviours. Erosion of initially strong habits ('habit degradation') was most common for transmission-conducive behaviours. Regression analyses showed 'habit formation' and 'stable strong habit' trajectories were associated with greater behavioural engagement at later timepoints. Participants typically maintained or formed transmission-reduction habits, which encouraged later performance, and degraded transmission-conducive habits, which decreased performance. Findings suggest COVID-19-preventive habits may be recoverable in future virus outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cancer is highly burdensome, but preventable with regular engagement in sun protective behaviors. Despite modest effectiveness of sun-protective behavior promotional efforts thus far, rates of engagement in sun-protective behaviors remain low. More is needed to understand motivation for using sunscreen, wearing sun-protective clothing, and seeking shade. This study tested whether the links of intention and habit strength with behavior differed between sun-protective behaviors. It was hypothesized that sun protective behaviors would be predicted by both habit and intention and that intention-behavior associations would be weaker for people with stronger habits. Participants residing in Queensland, Australia (N = 203; 75.96% female; M age = 37.16 years, SD = 14.67) self-reported their intentions and habit strength about sun-protective behavior for the next 7 days. Participants were followed-up 7 days later to self-report their sun-protective behavior. Multilevel modeling, accounting for nesting of multiple behaviors within-person, revealed that habit moderated the intention strength – behavior association and this moderation effect did not differ as a function of which behavior was being predicted. People with strong or moderate habit strength tended to act in line with their intentions; however, for people with very weak habits (2 SD < M), there was less alignment between their intention and behavior. These findings suggest that habit plays a facilitative role in the implementation of strong sun protective behavior intentions. Interventions should consider how to encourage intention and habit to enhance sun-protective behaviors and reduce the burden of skin cancer from sun exposure. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2021.1903380. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in understanding how habit forms can help people change their behaviour in ways that make them happier and healthier. Making behaviour habitual, such that people automatically act in associated contexts due to learned context-response associations, offers a mechanism for maintaining new, desirable behaviours even when conscious motivation wanes. This has prompted interest in understanding how habit forms in the real world. To reliably inform intervention design, habit formation studies must be conceptually and methodologically sound. This paper proposes methodological criteria for studies tracking real-world habit formation, or potential moderators of the effect of repetition on formation. A narrative review of habit theory was undertaken to extract essential and desirable criteria for modelling how habit forms in naturalistic settings, and factors that influence the relationship between repetition and formation. Next, a methodological review identified exemplary real-world habit formation studies according to these criteria. Fourteen methodological criteria, capturing study design (four criteria), measurement (six criteria), and analysis and interpretation (four criteria), were derived from the narrative review. Five extant studies were found to meet our criteria. Adherence to these criteria should increase the likelihood that studies will offer revealing conclusions about how habits develop in real-world settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to empirically test the theoretical propositions that habit for and level of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) should be associated with degree of context stability of those behaviours. Design: Older adults (N = 104) completed a 10‐day EMA protocol and continuous accelerometer monitoring. Methods: As part of the EMA protocol older adults answered 6 EMA prompts per day to assess current behaviour as well as social and physical contexts of behaviour. Temporal context was determined via time stamps of EMA questionnaires. Context stability was calculated as the reversed entropy scores of the contexts (physical, social, temporal, behavioural [i.e., type]) of PA and SB weighted for total frequency of context prompts. Habit for PA and SB (operationalized as self‐reported behavioural automaticity) was assessed via baseline questionnaire. An ActivPAL monitor was worn to assess average daily time spent in moderate‐vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA, and SB, and number of sit‐to‐stand transitions. Results: More stable physical contexts for physical activity predicted more MVPA (β = 10.22) and more stable social contexts for sitting predicted more SB (β = 1.36). More variety of time people tended to report engaging in SB, the more SB engaged in (β = −13.76). No context stability scores predicted light PA, sit‐to‐stand transitions, or habit. Conclusions: Although context stability was related to behaviour, this did not appear to be explained by habit, as habit did not differ by the degree of context stability surrounding bouts of PA or SB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To test confirmatory factor analyses of successful aging composed of physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning factors in masters athletes (n = 764) and non-sporting adults (n = 404), and compare the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning of masters athletes versus non-sporting adults. Method: Self-reported cross-sectional data were analyzed with confirmatory factor analyses. Results: Physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning latent factors significantly loaded onto a higher-order successful aging latent factor (p < .05). Masters athletes had higher physical and social functioning than non-sporting adults (p < .05). Psychological and cognitive functioning did not differ between groups. Conclusions: Successful aging should be considered as a multi-faceted construct consisting of different domains of functioning for both masters athletes and non-sporting adults. Masters athletes were aged successfully relative to the non-sporting adults across the physical and social functioning domains. Physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning domains constitute an appropriate model to use in future experimental research investigating the effect of masters sport for successful aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the effect of 12-weeks of cycling training and competition versus recreational cycling on successful aging across physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning domains in mid-aged adults. Methods: Recreational cyclists were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 13, M age = 47.18 years) and comparison (n = 13, M age = 46.91 years) group. Analysis of Covariance was used on self-reported pre-post data to determine changes across time and differences between groups on outcomes. Results: The intervention group scored higher on the role limitation due to physical problems measure of physical functioning (p = .045) and the social activity measure of social functioning (p = .008) with large effect sizes (ηp² > .14). The remaining physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning measures were not significantly different (p > .05) between groups with small to medium effect sizes (p² > .01 to ≤ .06). Conclusion: Cycling training and competition promotes better physical and social functioning than recreational cycling. This finding indicates that an intervention that incorporates the training and competition aspects of sport may promote positive outcomes that are above and beyond those that can be gained from participation in recreational physical activity. Objective measurements on larger samples across a broader range of sports are required to confirm and extend these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity is regulated by controlled processes, such as intentions, and automatic processes, such as habits. Intentions relate to physical activity more strongly for people with weak habits than for people with strong habits, but people's intentions vary day by day. Physical activity may be regulated by habits unless daily physical activity intentions are strong. University students (N = 128) self-reported their physical activity habit strength and subsequently self-reported daily physical activity intentions and wore an accelerometer for 14 days. On days when people had intentions that were weaker than typical for them, habit strength was positively related to physical activity, but on days when people had typical or stronger intentions than was typical for them, habit strength was unrelated to daily physical activity. Efforts to promote physical activity may need to account for habits and the dynamics of intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Growing evidence suggests that sitting is activated automatically on exposure to associated environments, yet no study has yet sought to identify in what ways sitting may be automatic. Method: This study used data from a 12-month sitting-reduction intervention trial to explore discrete dimensions of sitting automaticity, and how these dimensions may be affected by an intervention. One hundred ninety-four office workers reported sitting automaticity at baseline, and 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months after receiving one of two sitting-reduction intervention variants. Results: Principal component analysis extracted two automaticity components, corresponding to a lack of awareness and a lack of control. Scores on both automaticity scales decreased over time post-intervention, indicating that sitting became more mindful, though lack of awareness scores were consistently higher than lack of control scores. Conclusion: Attempts to break office workers' sitting habits should seek to enhance conscious awareness of alternatives to sitting and afford office workers a greater sense of control over whether they sit or stand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most common reported barrier to physical activity is a lack of sufficient time. Just like most resources in economics are finite, so too is time within a day. We utilized a time-utility model to better understand how people are allocating time for physical activity. Additionally, we tested whether the allocation of physical activity time impacts people's perception of "lack of time" as a barrier for physical activity or their likelihood of being sufficiently physical active. Australian adults (N = 725 participants, 54% men) reported their time use throughout their day, perceived lack of time as a barrier to activity, and physical activity. Cluster analysis and χ2-tests were used to test the study research questions. People tended to either be entirely inactive (29%) or active while doing either leisure (18%), occupation (18%), transport (14%), or household (22%) activities. Those who were active during their leisure or transport time were most likely to be sufficiently active. There were no significant differences among clusters in how much people perceived that lack of time was a physical activity barrier. The commonly reported barrier of not having enough time to be active might be a fallacy. Although a lack of time is a commonly reported barrier of physical activity, these findings bring to light that increasing physical activity behavior is not as simple as adding more time to the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives Ego depletion impairs physical and cognitive capacities, but its effects on daily intentions and behavior remain unclear. This study provides insight into relationships between ego depletion, intentions, and exercise, leisure sitting and other non-activity related behaviors. Design The study involved repeated assessment using a daily diary. Method Australian university students (N = 103, 52% female, M age = 22 years) self-reported end-of-day ego depletion, decisional intentions, and behavior for time spent exercising, in leisure-time sitting, doing paid work, sleeping, studying, housework, and the amount of alcohol consumed across seven days. Results When people were more ego depleted at the time of reporting intentions, they intended to exercise for less time the next day than when people were less ego depleted. However, if people were highly ego depleted when reporting exercise intentions for the next day, they were subsequently more likely to reach those intentions. There were no significant effects of ego depletion on intentions or on the likelihood of achieving intentions for any behavior other than exercise. Conclusions Given that the effects of ego depletion on intentions and behavior were seen for exercise but not other daily behaviors, it may be that ego depletion only impacts intentions to engage in physically effortful behavior. Future research is needed to test replicability of the effects. Interventions may consider accounting for ego depletion in efforts to enhance behavioral intentions; however, the findings also highlight the importance of keeping behavior change (as opposed to change in intentions) as the main outcome focus. Highlights • Being ego depleted when making plans for exercise results in more modest plans. • The negative effects of ego depletion on plans does not necessarily impact behavior. • Being ego depleted when making plans does not impact intentions for other behaviors. • It may be that ego depletion reduces only intended time spent in effortful activity. • Behavior change efforts need to focus on behavior as the outcome rather than plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity theories have almost exclusively focused on conscious regulatory processes such as plans, beliefs, and expected value. The aim of this review was to aggregate the burgeoning evidence showing that physical activity is also partially determined by non-conscious processes (e.g., habits, automatic associations, priming effects). A systematic search was conducted and study characteristics, design, measures, effect size of the principle summary measures, and main conclusions of 52 studies were extracted by two independent coders. The findings support that habitual regulatory processes measured via self-report are directly associated with physical activity beyond conscious processes, and that there is likely interdependency between habit strength and intentions. Response latency measures of automatic associations with physical activity were widely disparate, precluding conclusions about specific effects. A small body of evidence demonstrated a variety of priming effects on physical activity. Overall, it is evident that physical activity is partially regulated by non-conscious processes, but there remain many unanswered questions for this area of research. Future research should refine the conceptualisation and measurement of non-conscious regulatory processes and determine how to harness them to promote physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: High screen time in children and its detrimental health effects is a major public health problem. How much screen time adults think is appropriate for children remains little explored, as well as whether adults' screen time behaviour would determine their views on screen time restrictions for children. This study aimed to investigate how adults' screen time behaviour influences their views on screen time restrictions for children, including differences by gender and parental status.Methods: In 2013, 2034 Australian adults participated in an online survey conducted by the Population Research Laboratory at Central Queensland University, Rockhampton. Adult screen time behaviour was assessed using the Workforce Sitting Questionnaire. Adults reported the maximum time children aged between 5-12 years should be allowed to spend watching TV and using a computer. Ordinal logistic regression was used to compare adult screen time behaviour with views on screen time restrictions for children.Results: Most adults (68%) held the view that children should be allowed no more than 2 h of TV viewing and computer use on school days, whilst fewer adults (44%) thought this screen time limit is needed on weekend days. Women would impose higher screen time restrictions for children than men (p < 0.01). Most adults themselves spent > 2 h on watching TV and using the computer at home on work days (66%) and non-work days (88%). Adults spending ≤ 2 h/day in leisure-related screen time were less likely to permit children > 2 h/day of screen time. These associations did not differ by adult gender and parental status.Conclusions: Most adults think it is appropriate to limit children's screen time to the recommended ≤ 2 h/day but few adults themselves adhere to this screen time limit. Adults with lower screen use may be more inclined to limit children's screen time. Strategies to reduce screen time in children may also need to target adult screen use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst strong efforts to promote the therapeutic benefits of physical activity for reducing depression and anxiety in clinical populations, little focus has been directed towards the mental health benefits of activity for non-clinical populations. The objective of this meta-meta-analysis was to systematically aggregate and quantify high-quality meta-analytic findings of the effects of physical activity on depression and anxiety for non-clinical populations. A systematic search identified eight meta-analytic outcomes of randomised trials that investigated the effects of physical activity on depression or anxiety. The subsequent meta-meta-analyses were based on a total of 92 studies with 4310 participants for the effect of physical activity on depression and 306 study effects with 10,755 participants for the effect of physical activity on anxiety. Physical activity reduced depression by a medium effect [standardised mean difference (SMD) = −0.50; 95% CI: −0.93 to −0.06] and anxiety by a small effect (SMD = −0.38; 95% CI: −0.66 to −0.11). Neither effect showed significant heterogeneity across meta-analyses. These findings represent a comprehensive body of high-quality evidence that physical activity reduces depression and anxiety in non-clinical populations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author aims to contribute to and extend B. Gardner's points on the limitations of habit measures and contends that these measures do not solely capture habitual cues to behaviour or habitual action. Topics discussed include claims that the measures are problematic since individuals are unlikely to have access or awareness of the cues and associated responses that lead to habitual action and Gardner's synthesis of research and theory on habit.

Background: Previous research has shown that the personalisation of study invitations improves response rates in survey-based research. To examine if this finding extends to experimental studies, we examined the impact of personalised study invitation e-mails on the response rates of potentially eligible breast cancer survivors for participation in a 6 month randomised controlled trial testing the efficacy of a physical activity intervention. Methods: Potential participants (n = 344) were sent either a personalised email or a generic email. Results: Those sent the personalised email were 1.5 times (95 % CI = 1.18-1.93) more likely to respond than those sent the generic email. Conclusion: These findings suggest that personalisation may be a useful and potentially powerful tool that can be utilised when recruiting participants into experimental studies in order to boost response rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT) has been used as a method for assessing automatic evaluations of physical activity, but measurement artifact or consciously-held attitudes could be confounding the outcome scores of these measures. The objective of these two studies was to address these measurement concerns by testing the validity of a novel SC-IAT scoring technique. Design Study 1 was a cross-sectional study, and study 2 was a prospective study. Method In study 1, undergraduate students ( N = 104) completed SC-IATs for physical activity, flowers, and sedentary behavior. In study 2, undergraduate students ( N = 91) completed a SC-IAT for physical activity, self-reported affective and instrumental attitudes toward physical activity, physical activity intentions, and wore an accelerometer for two weeks. The EZ-diffusion model was used to decompose the SC-IAT into three process component scores including the information processing efficiency score. Results In study 1, a series of structural equation model comparisons revealed that the information processing score did not share variability across distinct SC-IATs, suggesting it does not represent systematic measurement artifact. In study 2, the information processing efficiency score was shown to be unrelated to self-reported affective and instrumental attitudes toward physical activity, and positively related to physical activity behavior, above and beyond the traditional D -score of the SC-IAT. Conclusions The information processing efficiency score is a valid measure of automatic evaluations of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical inactivity, sitting behaviour, and mental health problems are detrimental to health-related quality of life but typically are considered as independent determinants. This study tested how these factors clustered together as profiles of subgroups of people and whether the clusters differed as a function of physical and mental health-related quality of life. Methods: In 2012, Australian adults (N =1,014) self-reported their physical and mental health-related quality of life, physical activity, sitting time, depression, anxiety, and stress using a web-based survey. Cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups of health behaviour and mental health profiles, and ANOVA was used to test for between-cluster differences in health-related quality of life. Results: Three subgroups were identified: people with higher psychological stress (n =13%), people with higher amounts of sitting time (n =45%), and people with lower amounts of sitting time (n =42%). There were no differences in mental health-related quality of life between subgroups; however people represented by the subgroup of higher amounts of sitting time had significantly lower physical health-related quality of life than the other two subgroups, F(2, 1011) =10.04, p < .01. Conclusions: Interventions should consider that (1) physical activity, sitting time, and psychological distress are aspects of multifaceted behavioural-psychological profiles, and (2) reductions of sitting time may have major impacts for physical health-related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Farmers are prone to poor well‐being and are at higher risks of suicide than the general population. The aim of this study was to understand whether the negative impact of daily stressors on Australian farmers' well‐being could be buffered through a strong internal locus of control – a strong sense of control over what happens in life. Methods: Australian farmers self‐reported their well‐being, daily stress, and locus of control. Design: Cross‐sectional via pen‐and‐paper survey. Setting: Participants completed the surveys at the beginning of agricultural management training courses. Participants: Australian farmers (N = 129, M age = 39 ± 12 years, 54.7% male). Main Outcome Measures Internal and external locus of control, daily stress, and subjective well‐being. Results: More daily stressors were associated to poorer well‐being, regardless of external locus of control; however, farmers with a stronger internal locus of control were buffered from the negative impacts of daily stressors. That is, daily stressors were not significantly associated with well‐being for farmers with a strong internal locus of control. Conclusions: Internal locus of control may be a significant factor in supporting good well‐being for farmers. Further research should investigate how to enhance internal locus of control amongst this population. It may be that interventions to enhance internal locus of control in farmers could improve their well‐being and productivity, good outcomes for the individual farmers, and global society overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Black adults experience higher levels of stress and more dysfunctional sleep patterns compared to their White peers, both of which may contribute to racial disparities in chronic health conditions. Dysfunctional sleep patterns are also more likely in emerging adults compared to other age groups. Daily stress-sleep relations in Black emerging adults are understudied.Purpose: This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and wrist-worn actigraphy to examine bidirectional associations between daily stress and sleep among Black emerging adults.Methods: Black college freshmen (N = 50) completed an EMA protocol (i.e., five EMA prompts/day) and wore an accelerometer for 7 days. The first EMA prompt of each day assessed sleep duration and quality. All EMA prompts assessed stress. Wrist-worn actigraphy assessed nocturnal sleep duration, sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, and waking after sleep onset.Results: At the within-person level, stress experienced on a given day was not associated with any sleep metrics that night (p > .05). On evenings when actigraphy-based sleep duration was shorter (B = -0.02, p = .01) and self-reported sleep quality was poorer (B = -0.12, p = .02) than usual, stress was greater the following day. At the between-person level, negative bidirectional relations existed between stress and actigraphy-based waking after sleep onset (stress predicting sleep: B = -0.35, p = .02; sleep predicting stress: B = -0.27, p = .04).Conclusions: Among Black emerging adults, associations between daily sleep and stress vary at the between- and within-person level and are dependent upon the sleep metric assessed. Future research should compare these relations across different measures of stress and different racial/ethnic groups to better understand health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses that managing physical health issues along with mental illness can be difficult, especially for those living in rural locations, given that access to mental health services diminishes as remoteness increases. It mentions that together with limited funding for rural health promotion, rural residents may be worse off; and also mentions that better access to health care services in rural areas reduce disease burden in these communities.

Heeding recent calls to capture dynamic variability of physical activity (PA) motivation within a self-determination theory framework, this study examined the extent to which psychological needs satisfaction in PA predicted subsequent PA, disaggregating within-person and between-persons data. University students (N = 89) wore an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer for 6 days and reported basic psychological needs satisfaction daily. Multilevel models examined whether competence, autonomy, and relatedness for the previous day's PA (>2,020 counts per minute) predicted the following day's minutes of PA (>2,020 counts per minute), controlling for previous-day PA. Participants who, on average, reported greater feelings of autonomy and competence tended to engage in more minutes of PA the following day. When participants reported feeling greater relatedness than what was typical for them, they tended to engage in more PA the following day. Psychological needs vary day to day, but how and to what extent they predict PA depends on the specific need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many theories of motivation recognize a person's identity adds value to the prediction of behavior; albeit indirectly, through constructs such as social norms, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, and values. Recently, behavioral research has more directly assessed the influence of identity on behavior; however, it is unclear whether such research aligns with the theoretical establishments of identity. This review investigated the identity theory alignment of existing behavior research by systematically searching, screening, and reviewing identity-behavior relevant papers, across three behavioral psychology databases. Twenty-three papers meet the inclusion criteria for review (original research with a primary focus on identity and behavior, within healthy adult population), and data relating to identity-behavior theoretical viewpoints, research methods, and study findings were extracted and synthesized to provide a scoping overview of current research. Most reviewed papers presented identity as a loosely defined construct; commonly operationalized as social identity, omitting the theorized multiplicity of social and self-identities. Overall outcomes suggested that identity influences behavior indirectly through intention strength, rather than directly as a post-intention mechanism. While existing research has been crucial in illuminating potential influences of identity on behavior, there is a need to strengthen current understandings and theoretical alignments within future research relating to identity and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at a study of physical activity trends in adults living in Queensland, Australia from 2005 to 2014 by the Population Research Laboratory. Study highlights include how total weekly physical activity was calculated, method used to conduct generalised linear models, and differences in moderate-to-vigorous activity location.

Hagger (2019) offers an insightful synthesis of recent theoretical and empirical developments in understanding of habit and its relevance to physical activity. This commentary extends coverage of one such advance, namely the distinction between two manifestations of habit in physical activity: habitually 'deciding' to engage in activity (i.e. habitual instigation), and habitually 'doing' the activity (habitual execution). We explore the rationale for this distinction and argue that most contemporary theory and evidence around habitual physical activity – and by extension, Hagger's review – implicitly focuses on instigation and neglects execution. We offer hypotheses around the potential roles that habitual execution may play in physical activity. Broadening the scope of inquiry within the field to more fully encompass habitual performance would achieve a more comprehensive and informative account that incorporates concepts of skill acquisition and mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular exercise has substantial benefits for mental health. The way people feel during exercise impacts motivation. This study investigated whether experiencing depression, anxiety or comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms impacted feeling state responses throughout a charity cycling ride. To achieve this aim, we conducted an ecological momentary assessment study of feeling states (via Pleasant and Negative Affect Schedule items) across a multi-day cause-based cycling event. Multivariate and univariate generalized linear mixed models was applied to test how affective and self-conscious emotional experiences changed across time and whether feeling state change differed between people experiencing depression, anxiety, or comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms. For people experiencing depression symptoms, positive feelings decreased and negative feelings increased throughout the event. People experiencing anxiety symptoms had initially elevated negative feeling states that decreased across the event. For people experiencing comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms, changes in pride mirrored that of people experiencing only depression symptoms (decrease from initially high levels); whereas changes in guilt mirrored that of people experiencing only anxiety symptoms (initially high levels that decreased throughout event). These findings demonstrate that depression and anxiety symptoms put people at risk for having negative affective and emotional experiences during exercise events and that these effects are further complicated when depression and anxiety symptoms co-occur. Exercise events and interventions must consider how to mitigate the potentially demotivating impacts that negative affective judgments can have on motivation for future exercise participation of people experiencing depression and/or anxiety symptoms. • Depression and anxiety symptoms impact feelings during multi-day cycle event. • Depression symptoms led to less positive and more negative feelings across the event. • Experiencing anxiety resulted in lower levels of positive feeling states initially. • The negative impact of anxiety on positive feelings reduced across the event. • Comorbid depression and anxiety led to different pride and guilt reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor neighborhood conditions are associated with lower levels of physical activity for older adults but socio-ecological models posit that physical activity depends on both environmental and individual factors. Older adults' ability to overcome environmental barriers to physical activity may partially rely on cognitive resources. However, evidence on the moderating role of these cognitive resources in the associations between environmental barriers and physical activity is still lacking. We analyzed cross-national and longitudinal data on 28,393 adults aged 50 to 96 years as part of the SHARE. Lack of access to services and neighborhood nuisances were used as indicators of poor neighborhood conditions. Delayed recall and verbal fluency were used as indicators of cognitive resources. Confounder-adjusted generalized estimation equations were conducted to test associations between neighborhood conditions and self-reported moderate physical activity, as well as the moderating role of cognitive resources. Results showed that poor neighborhood conditions reduced the odds of engagement in physical activity. Cognitive resources robustly reduced the adverse influence of poor neighborhood conditions on physical activity. Participants with lower cognitive resource scores showed lower odds of engaging in physical activity when neighborhood conditions were poorer, whereas these conditions were not related to this engagement for participants with higher cognitive resource scores. These findings suggest that cognitive resources can temper the detrimental effect of poor neighborhood conditions on physical activity. Public policies should target both individual and environmental factors to tackle the current pandemic of physical inactivity more comprehensively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies of the physical activity intention-behavior gap, and factors that may moderate the gap (e.g., habit, perceived behavioral control), can inform physical activity promotion efforts. Yet, these studies typically apply linear modeling procedures, and so conclusions rely on linearity and homoscedasticity assumptions, which may not hold. Methods: We modelled and plotted physical activity intention-behavior associations and the moderation effects of habit using simulated data based on (a) normal distributions with no shared variance, (b) correlated parameters with normal distribution, and (c) realistically correlated and non-normally distributed parameters. Results: In the uncorrelated and correlated normal distribution datasets, no violations were unmet, and the moderation effects applied across the entire data range. However, because in the realistic dataset, few people who engaged in physical activity behavior had low intention scores, the intention-behavior association was non-linear, resulting in inflated linear moderation estimations of habit. This finding was replicated when tested with intention-behavior moderation of perceived behavioral control. Conclusions: Comparisons of the three scenarios illustrated how an identical correlation coefficient may mask different types of intention-behavior association and moderation effects. These findings highlight the risk of misinterpreting tests of the intention-behavior gap and its moderators for physical activity due to unfounded statistical assumptions. The previously well-documented moderating effects of habit, whereby the impact of intention on behavior weakens as habit strength increases, may be based on statistical byproducts of unmet model assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bedtime procrastination, the volitional delay of going to bed without any external circumstances causing the delay, is linked to multiple indicators of inadequate sleep. Intervening to reduce bedtime procrastination may be an important avenue to improve sleep outcomes, yet the phenomenon remains poorly understood in populations at risk for bedtime procrastination. New career starters, those who have graduated from tertiary education and started a new full‐time job within the past 12 months, may be susceptible to problematic bedtime procrastination and are at an opportune time for a 'fresh start' to change behaviour. Aims: The objectives of this study were to understand how bedtime procrastination is experienced and perceived by new career starters, to identify the enablers and barriers to behaviour change in new career starters and to explore themes for future interventions. Materials & Methods: Data were collected through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 28 participants. Results: Inductive thematic analysis was used to find seven themes: (1) negative feelings before and during bedtime procrastination; (2) wanting to versus knowing I shouldn't; (3) difficulty falling asleep; (4) influence of automatic processes; (5) consequences of bedtime procrastination; (6) lack of self‐control and (7) technology captures late‐night attention. Participants emphasised the need for me‐time, self‐negotiation to continue procrastinating and knowledge of the value of sleep. Discussion & Conclusion: Findings suggest that bedtime procrastination involves both reflective and automatic cognitive processes. Future interventions would benefit from a dual‐process approach, using cognitive and behavioural techniques to reduce bedtime procrastination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of implicit associations and explicit evaluations with affective responses during an aerobic exercise session, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in adults. Fifty adults (70% women; median age = 31 years; 25th, 75th percentiles: 24.50, 40.50 years old; body mass index = 25.29 ± 4.97 kg/m2) not engaged in regular physical activity completed an implicit association test and a questionnaire of explicit evaluations and wore an accelerometer for 7 days. After the 7-day period, the participants performed 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Every 5 min, the affective response and the perception of effort were recorded. Participants who had more positive implicit associations toward physical activity (vs. sedentary behavior) reported higher affective responses during exercise and engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity. Encouraging pleasant physical activity may act to partially improve future physical activity through automatic motivational processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore older adults' perceptions and preferences for web-based physical activity interventions.Participants: Adults 65+ years were recruited via telephoning randomly selected households in Central Queensland, Australia.Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with a total of 46 adults 65+ years. Data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis.Results: This group of older adults liked websites that have links to information and included instructional videos and disliked websites that were hard to navigate. Many participants did not express an initial interest in web-based physical activity programs. The most common reason was that they did not have a computer or adequate internet connection. Some participants said they would be interested if it included a structured exercise program. When asked about preferences for web-based physical activity programs, this group preferred them to be simple and not cluttered, to include personalized advice, to include reminder check-ins and the ability to review goals after illness or injury. The most common preference for personalized advice in web-based interventions was that the information needs to be tailored to their existing injuries and illnesses.Conclusion: The findings from this study will inform the design of future web-based interventions specifically tailored to the needs of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitual behaviours are elicited when a familiar context activates cue‐behaviour associations that have been learned through previous performance. A core hypothesis within habit theory is that, by virtue of its automaticity, habit weakens the impact of intention on action, such that in facilitating conditions, action will be guided more by habit than momentary intentions. This has led to recommendations that habit formation be harnessed as a mechanism for sustaining desirable behaviour over time, when people would otherwise relapse due to loss of motivation. This article reviews theory and evidence around the hypothesized interaction between habit and intention as determinants of behaviour. We first qualify the hypothesis by clarifying that it pertains only to determinants of the instigation of action, rather than execution. Next, drawing on a systematic review of 52 behaviour‐prediction studies, we highlight mixed empirical support for the interaction. We argue that ostensibly inconsistent findings can be reconciled by recognizing the distinction between the direction and strength of intention, and identifying the "facilitating conditions" that may determine the relative influence of habit and intention on behaviour. Evidence demonstrates that when self‐control is diminished, people act habitually regardless of intention direction or strength. When people possess self‐control, habits can help people to act on favourable but weakened intentions, but intentions that oppose habitual tendencies can override habitual influence. This has important implications for behaviour change: even if habit has formed, a minimal level of favourable conscious motivation may be required to sustain behaviours over time. Social psychology might fruitfully move beyond asking whether habit moderates the intention‐behaviour relationship, and instead probe how and in which conditions habits and intentions interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers recommendations on how exercise specialists can play a key role in the management of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Topics mentioned include the psychological symptoms of PD, the effectiveness of exercise for the treatment of motor and cognitive symptoms of PD and enhancing patient's self-efficacy, and key principles that exercise specialists need to consider when managing patients with PD.

Most people in developed countries are not physically active enough to reap optimal health benefits so effective promotion strategies are warranted. Theories of behaviour change are essential to understand physical activity and provide an organizing framework for effective intervention. The purpose of this paper was to provide a narrative historical overview of four key theoretical frameworks (social cognitive, humanistic, dual process, socioecological) that have been applied to understand and change physical activity over the last three decades. Our synthesis of research included the brief history, basic efficacy, strengths, and potential weaknesses of these approaches when applied to physical activity. The dominant framework for understanding physical activity has been in the social cognitive tradition, and it has provided valuable information on key constructs linked to physical activity. The humanistic framework for understanding physical activity has seen a surge in research in the last decade and has demonstrated initial effectiveness in both explaining and intervening on behaviour. The most recent and understudied framework for understanding physical activity is dual process models, which may have promise to provide a broader perspective of motivation by considering non-conscious and hedonic determinants of physical activity. Finally, the individual-level focus of all three of these approaches is contrasted by the socioecological framework, which has seen considerable research attention in the last 15 years and has been instrumental in understanding the role of the built environment in physical activity behaviour and critical to shaping public health policy in government. Despite the strengths of all four frameworks, we noted several weaknesses of each approach at present and highlight several newer applications of integrated models and dynamic models that may serve to improve our understanding and promotion of physical activity over the next decade. • Provides a narrative historical overview of four key theoretical frameworks applied to understand physical activity over the last three decades. • Brief history, basic efficacy, strengths, and potential weaknesses of these approaches are addressed. • Highlights applications of integrated and dynamic models that may serve to improve our promotion of physical activity over the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with knowledge of the benefits of physical activity tend to be more active; however, such knowledge is typically operationalized as a basic understanding that physical activity is ‘good’ for health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in how detailed a person’s knowledge is about the benefits of physical activity. Participants (N = 615) completed an online survey to measure their current physical activity behaviour, as well as their level of knowledge of the benefits and risks of physical (in)activity. The majority of participants (99.6%) strongly agreed that physical activity is good for health, however on average, participants only identified 13.8 out of 22 diseases associated with physical inactivity and over half of participants (55.6%) could not identify how much physical activity is recommended for health benefits. Furthermore, 45% of the participants overestimated, 9% underestimated and 27% did not know the increased risk of disease resulting from inactivity as indicated by the Australian Department of Health. Participants were significantly more active when they correctly identified more diseases associated with physical inactivity and when they overestimated the risks associated with inactivity. Therefore, health promotion initiatives should increase knowledge of the types of diseases associated with inactivity. Low knowledge of physical activity guidelines suggest they should be promoted more, as this knowledge provides guidance on frequency, types and duration of physical activity needed for health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrections to the article "Do personalised e-mail invitations increase the response rates of breast cancer survivors invited to participate in a web-based behaviour change intervention? A quasi-randomised 2-arm controlled trial" that was published in the 2015 issue are presented.

Many theories of motivation recognize a person's identity adds value to the prediction of behavior; albeit indirectly, through constructs such as social norms, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, and values. Recently, behavioral research has more directly assessed the influence of identity on behavior; however, it is unclear whether such research aligns with the theoretical establishments of identity. This review investigated the identity theory alignment of existing behavior research by systematically searching, screening, and reviewing identity-behavior relevant papers, across three behavioral psychology databases. Twenty-three papers meet the inclusion criteria for review (original research with a primary focus on identity and behavior, within healthy adult population), and data relating to identity-behavior theoretical viewpoints, research methods, and study findings were extracted and synthesized to provide a scoping overview of current research. Most reviewed papers presented identity as a loosely defined construct; commonly operationalized as social identity, omitting the theorized multiplicity of social and self-identities. Overall outcomes suggested that identity influences behavior indirectly through intention strength, rather than directly as a post-intention mechanism. While existing research has been crucial in illuminating potential influences of identity on behavior, there is a need to strengthen current understandings and theoretical alignments within future research relating to identity and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, persuasion can occur via two different routes (the central route and peripheral route), with the route utilized dependent on factors associated with motivation and ability. This study aimed to explore the moderating role of need for cognition (NFC) and perceived relevance on the processing of physical activity messages designed to persuade via either the central route or the peripheral route. Method: Participants (N = 50) were randomized to receive messages optimized for central route processing or messages optimized for peripheral route processing. Eye-tracking devices were used to assess attention, which was the primary outcome. Message perceptions and the extent of persuasion (changes in physical activity determinants) were also assessed via self-report as secondary outcomes. Moderator effects were examined using interaction terms within mixed effects models and linear regression models. Results: There were no detected interactions between condition and NFC for any of the study outcomes (all ps >.05). Main effects of personal relevance were observed for some self-report outcomes, with increased relevance associated with better processing outcomes. An interaction between need for cognition and personal relevance was observed for perceived behavioral control (p = 0.002); greater relevance was associated with greater perceived behavioral control for those with a higher need for cognition. Conclusion: Matching physical activity messages based on NFC may not increase intervention efficacy. Relevance of materials is associated with greater change in physical activity determinants and may be more so among those with a higher NFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research has shown that the personalisation of study invitations improves response rates in survey-based research. To examine if this finding extends to experimental studies, we examined the impact of personalised study invitation e-mails on the response rates of potentially eligible breast cancer survivors for participation in a 6 month randomised controlled trial testing the efficacy of a physical activity intervention.Methods: Potential participants (n = 344) were sent either a personalised email or a generic email.Results: Those sent the personalised email were 1.5 times (95 % CI = 1.18-1.93) more likely to respond than those sent the generic email.Conclusion: These findings suggest that personalisation may be a useful and potentially powerful tool that can be utilised when recruiting participants into experimental studies in order to boost response rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine older adults’ physical activity intentions and preferred implementation intentions, and how intentions and preferred implementation intentions differ between older, middle aged and younger adults. A cross-sectional Australian wide telephone survey of 1217 respondents was conducted in 2016. Multiple and ordinal regression analyses were conducted to compare intentions and preferred implementation intentions between older (65 +), middle aged (45-64) and younger adults (< 45). A higher percentage of older adults had no intentions to engage in regular physical activity within the next 6 months (60%) compared to younger adults (25%). Older adults’ most popular preferences included being active at least once a day and for 30 min or less and were more likely to prefer more frequent and shorter sessions compared to younger adults. Both older and middle aged adults were more likely to prefer slower paced physical activity compared to younger adults who preferred fast paced physical activity. Physical activity interventions for older adults should address the high percentage of older adults with no intentions and public health campaigns for older adults should promote 30 min daily sessions of slow paced activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the frequency of and trends in healthy lifestyle factors between singles and couples. Methods: Cross-sectional data from annual surveys conducted from 2005–2014 were used. The pooled sample included 15,001 Australian adults (mean age: 52.9 years, 50% male, 74% couples) who participated in the annual Queensland Social Survey via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Relationship status was dichotomised into single and couple. Binary logistic regression was used to assess associations between relationship status, and the frequency of and trends in healthy lifestyle factors. Results: Compared to singles, couples were significantly more likely to be a non-smoker (OR = 1.82), and meet recommendations for limited fast food (OR = 1.12), alcohol consumption (OR = 1.27) and fruit and vegetable intake (OR = 1.24). Fruit and vegetable intake was not significantly associated with relationship status after adjusting for the other healthy lifestyle factors. Conversely, couples were significantly less likely to be within a normal weight range (OR = 0.81). In both singles and couples, the trend data revealed significant declines in the rates of normal weight (singles: OR = 0.97, couples: OR = 0.97) and viewing TV for less than 14 hours per week (singles: OR = 0.85, couples: OR = 0.84), whilst non-smoking rates significantly increased (singles: OR = 1.12, couples: OR = 1.03). The BMI trend was no longer significant when adjusting for health behaviours. Further, in couples, rates of meeting recommendations for physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption significantly decreased (OR = 0.97 and OR = 0.95, respectively), as did rates of eating no fast food (OR = 0.96). These trends were not significant when adjusting for the other healthy lifestyle factors. In singles, rates of meeting alcohol recommendations significantly increased (OR = 1.08). Conclusions: Health behaviour interventions are needed in both singles and couples, but relationship status needs to be considered in interventions targeting alcohol, fast food, smoking and BMI. Further research is needed to understand why health behaviours differ by relationship status in order to further improve interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical inactivity, sitting behaviour, and mental health problems are detrimental to health-related quality of life but typically are considered as independent determinants. This study tested how these factors clustered together as profiles of subgroups of people and whether the clusters differed as a function of physical and mental health-related quality of life.Methods: In 2012, Australian adults (N =1,014) self-reported their physical and mental health-related quality of life, physical activity, sitting time, depression, anxiety, and stress using a web-based survey. Cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups of health behaviour and mental health profiles, and ANOVA was used to test for between-cluster differences in health-related quality of life.Results: Three subgroups were identified: people with higher psychological stress (n =13%), people with higher amounts of sitting time (n =45%), and people with lower amounts of sitting time (n =42%). There were no differences in mental health-related quality of life between subgroups; however people represented by the subgroup of higher amounts of sitting time had significantly lower physical health-related quality of life than the other two subgroups, F(2, 1011) =10.04, p < .01.Conclusions: Interventions should consider that (1) physical activity, sitting time, and psychological distress are aspects of multifaceted behavioural-psychological profiles, and (2) reductions of sitting time may have major impacts for physical health-related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While physical and mental health benefits of regular physical activity are well known, increasing evidence suggests that limiting sedentary behaviour is also important for health. Evidence shows associations of physical activity and sedentary behaviour with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), however, these findings are based predominantly on duration measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour (e.g., minutes/week), with less attention on frequency measures (e.g., number of bouts). We examined the association of HRQoL with physical activity and sedentary behaviour, using both continuous duration (average daily minutes) and frequency (average daily bouts≥10 min) measures. Baseline data from the WALK 2.0 trial were analysed. WALK 2.0 is a randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of Web 2.0 applications on engagement, retention, and subsequent physical activity change. Daily physical activity and sedentary behaviour (duration = average minutes, frequency = average number of bouts ≥10 minutes) were measured (ActiGraph GT3X) across one week, and HRQoL was assessed with the ‘general health’ subscale of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate associations. Participants (N = 504) were 50.8±13.1 (mean±SD) years old with a BMI of 29.3±6.0. The 465 participants with valid accelerometer data engaged in an average of 24.0±18.3 minutes and 0.64±0.74 bouts of moderate-vigorous physical activity per day, 535.2±83.8 minutes and 17.0±3.4 bouts of sedentary behaviour per day, and reported moderate-high general HRQoL (64.5±20.0). After adjusting for covariates, the duration measures of physical activity (path correlation = 0.294, p<0.05) and sedentary behaviour were related to general HRQoL (path coefficient = -0.217, p<0.05). The frequency measure of physical activity was also significant (path coefficient = -0.226, p<0.05) but the frequency of sedentary behaviour was not significantly associated with general HRQoL. Higher duration levels of physical activity in fewer bouts, and lower duration of sedentary behaviour are associated with better general HRQoL. Further prospective studies are required to investigate these associations in different population groups over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of commercial apps to improve health behaviours in children is growing rapidly. While this provides opportunities for promoting health, the content and quality of apps targeting children and adolescents is largely unexplored. This review systematically evaluated the content and quality of apps to improve diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents, and examined relationships of app quality ratings with number of app features and behaviour change techniques (BCTs) used. Methods: Systematic literature searches were conducted in iTunes and Google Play stores between May-November 2016. Apps were included if they targeted children or adolescents, focused on improving diet, physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour, had a user rating of at least 4+ based on at least 20 ratings, and were available in English. App inclusion, downloading and user-testing for quality assessment and content analysis were conducted independently by two reviewers. Spearman correlations were used to examine relationships between app quality, and number of technical app features and BCTs included. Results: Twenty-five apps were included targeting diet (n = 12), physical activity (n = 18) and sedentary behaviour (n = 7). On a 5-point Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), overall app quality was moderate (total MARS score: 3.6). Functionality was the highest scoring domain (mean: 4.1, SD: 0.6), followed by aesthetics (mean: 3.8, SD: 0.8), and lower scoring for engagement (mean: 3.6, SD: 0.7) and information quality (mean: 2.8, SD: 0.8). On average, 6 BCTs were identified per app (range: 1-14); the most frequently used BCTs were providing 'instructions' (n = 19), 'general encouragement' (n = 18), 'contingent rewards' (n = 17), and 'feedback on performance' (n = 13). App quality ratings correlated positively with numbers of technical app features (rho = 0.42, p < 0.05) and BCTs included (rho = 0.54, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Popular commercial apps to improve diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents had moderate quality overall, scored higher in terms of functionality. Most apps incorporated some BCTs and higher quality apps included more app features and BCTs. Future app development should identify factors that promote users' app engagement, be tailored to specific population groups, and be informed by health behaviour theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia experience high physical comorbidity, leading to a 15– 20-year mortality gap compared with the general population. Lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity (PA) play important roles in the quest to bridge this gap. Interventions to increase PA engagement in this population have potential to be efficacious; however, their effectiveness can be hindered by low participant engagement, including low adherence and high drop-out, and by implementation of interventions that are not designed to compensate for the cognitive and motivational impairments characteristic for this group. Moreover, and importantly, the negative symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with neurobiological changes in the brain, which—based on principles of biopsychology—can contribute to poor motivation and impaired decision-making processes and behavioural maintenance. To increase PA levels in people with schizophrenia, better understanding of these neurological changes that impact PA engagement is needed. This has the potential to inform the design of interventions that, through enhancement of motivation, could effectively increase PA levels in this specific population. Incorporating strategies that address the dopamine dysregulation associated with schizophrenia, such as boosting the role of reward and self-determined motivation, may improve long-term PA maintenance, leading to habitual PA. Consideration of motivation and behavioural maintenance is also needed to impart health benefits such as prevention of chronic disease, which is associated with currently low PA levels in this high metabolic risk population. Taking a biopsychological perspective, we outline the neural pathways involved in motivation that are impacted by schizophrenia and propose strategies for promoting motivation for and PA engagement from adoption to habit formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐affirmations—responding to self‐threatening information by reflecting on positive values or strengths—help to realign working self‐concept and may support adaptive coping and wellbeing. Little research has been undertaken on spontaneous self‐affirmations in response to everyday threats, and less has been undertaken on the relationships between spontaneous self‐affirmations, coping, and wellbeing. This study aimed to test both within‐ and between‐person relationships between spontaneous self‐affirmations, coping, and wellbeing, controlling for threat intensity and other outcomes. A repeated survey assessment design was adopted to achieve these aims. Outcome measures included approach coping, avoidance coping, positive affect, negative affect, and eudaimonic wellbeing. It was found that spontaneous self‐affirmations positively predicted approach coping and positive affect at both within‐ and between‐person levels, and eudaimonic wellbeing at the between‐person level. Overall, spontaneous self‐affirmations were positively associated with approach coping and aspects of wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]