The relationship between commitment and exercise behavior

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between commitment and exercise behavior using the Sport Commitment Model (SCM; J Sport & Exercise Psychology, 15, 1) as a guiding conceptual framework.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Methods: Participants at two universities (N₁=205; 83.4% female; N₂=223; 73.1% female) provided demographic information and completed measures of exercise commitment and frequency of exercise behavior.Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the presence of 5 determinants (personal investments, social support, satisfaction, social constraints, and invovlement alternatives) and 2 dimensions (‘want’ and ‘have’) of commitment. Structural equation modeling analyses supported the predictive utility of the SCM accounting for 31% and 51% of the commitment dimension variance and 12% of the exercise behavior variance respectively. Satisfaction and personal investment predicted both commitment dimensions, whereas alternatives and social constraints predicted ‘have to’ commitment only, and the ‘want to’ commitment dimension was the only significant predictor of exercise behavior.Conclusion: These results render some support for the psychometric properties of the measures used to assess commitment constructs in the exercise domain and provide partial support for the application of the SCM to the study of exercise motivation issues.