Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs in the Association Between Exercise Goal Content and Subjective Well-Being in Portuguese Older Adults

Couto, Nuno; Antunes, Raul; Bento, T.; Pereira dos Santos de Sousa Vitorino, Anabela; Monteiro, Diogo; Cid, Luis

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13899

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Authors

Couto, Nuno

Antunes, Raul

Bento, T.

Pereira dos Santos de Sousa Vitorino, Anabela

Monteiro, Diogo

Cid, Luis

Abstract(s)

Background: This study aimed to examine the association between different exercise goals and their impact on subjective well-being (SWB) variables, namely, positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and satisfaction with life (SWL), as well as to explore the mediating role of basic psychological needs (BPNs) in this relationship within a sample of Portuguese older adults. Objectives: The present study aimed to analyze the association between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for exercise, basic psychological needs (BPNs), and subjective well-being (SWB) in older Portuguese people. Methods: The sample study constituted 298 individuals (233 females, 65 males), aged between 60 and 90 years (M = 68.43; SD = 6.48). Through model four of the Process macro for SPSS version 3.5, a simple mediation analysis was carried out. Results: The results show that BPNs mediated the relationship between goal content for exercise health management and positive affect (PA) and satisfaction with life (SWL); goal content for exercise skill development and PA; goal content for exercise image, PA, and SWL; and goal content for exercise social affiliation and PA. Conclusions: Thus, we can conclude that BPNs stand out as a relevant mediator in the relationship between goal content for exercise and SWB variables, which reinforces the importance of BPNs in SWB promotion in the older population.

Keywords

motivation satisfaction with life positive affect negative affect basic psychological needs older people

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13899

Citation

Couto, N., Antunes, R., Bento, T., Vitorino, A., Monteiro, D., & Cid, L. (2025). Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs in the Association Between Exercise Goal Content and Subjective Well-Being in Portuguese Older Adults. Healthcare, 13(17), 2086. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13172086