The bidirectional relationship between sense of purpose in life and physical activity: a longitudinal study

Abstract

How to cite:Please refer to published version for the most recent bibliographic citation information.

Purpose in life and personal growth: The unique and joint contribution of physical activity and basic psychological needs

“…Moreover, we handled missing data appropriately and our analyses controlled for theory‐based two‐way interactions among the basic psychological needs. Although it is possible that a bidirectional association may exist between basic psychological needs and well‐being (e.g., eudaimonic well‐being could instill sense of competence) or physical activity and well‐being (Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021), the timing of the measurements in this study supports the associations that were modeled. Finally, although self‐reported, the measure of physical activity (PASE) used in this study is specific to older adults and may be more reliable than other assessments as it was measured weekly and then averaged across 4 weeks (Rikli, 2000; Sattler et al, 2020).…”

“…Additionally, there is extensive research suggesting a bidirectional association between physical activity and eudaimonic well-being (Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021). On the one hand, higher eudaimonic well-being, purpose in life, and personal growth specifically predicted sustained physical activity (i.e., engaging in physical activity about once a week) across a 20-year period (Rector et al, 2019).…”

Culture and Health: Recent Developments and Future Directions1

“…With such data, investigators can test whether the putative antecedent temporally preceded change in the putative consequent, thereby increasing confidence in the hypothesized causal directionality. Evidence of bi-directional influences can also be documented, as illustrated by recent findings from MIDUS showing that physical activity and purpose in life each influenced each other over time (Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021).…”

What makes life purposeful? Identifying the antecedents of a sense of purpose in life using a lagged exposure-wide approach

“…Indeed, having a higher sense of purpose in life is associated with improved health outcomes, including: better health behaviors (e.g., increased physical activity, increased preventive healthcare use, healthier sleep, reduced drug misuse; Kim et al, 2014 ; Kim et al, 2015 ; Turner et al, 2017 ; Hill et al, 2019 ; Chen et al, 2019 ; Kim et al . , 2020a ; Kim et al, 2020b ; Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021 ), improved biological functioning (e.g., reduced allostatic load, reduced inflammation; Zilioli et al, 2015 ; Hafez et al, 2018 ), and better physical health outcomes (e.g., improved physical functioning and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, and mortality; Yu et al, 2015 ; Cohen et al, 2016 ; Lewis et al, 2016 ; Kim et al, 2017 ; Chen et al, 2019 ; Kim et al, 2019 ; Kim, Tkatch, et al, 2021 ; Shiba et al, 2021 ; Willroth et al, 2021 ). Purpose is, of course, also desired by many for its own sake, giving one's activities and life goals a broader context ( Hanson & VanderWeele, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; VanderWeele, 2017 ).…”

“…One key factor hindering intervention development is the identification of factors that predict purpose. Many factors have been assessed as candidate antecedents of increased purpose, including: physical activity ( Lewis & Hill, 2020 ; Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021 ; Zhang & Chen, 2021 ), psychological well-being (e.g., increased positive affect; Chen et al, 2020 ), psychological distress (e.g., decreased: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and hopelessness; Chen et al, 2020 ), social factors (e.g., increased: volunteering, collective connectedness [belonging to a larger social group], perceived social support, orientation to promote good, number of close relatives, decreased loneliness; George & Park, 2013 ; Chen et al, 2020 ; Jongenelis et al, 2021 ; Mei et al, 2021 ), and others (e.g., spirituality, orientation to promote good; George & Park, 2013 ; Weziak-Bialowolska et al, 2021 ). However, these studies are not entirely uniform (e.g., mixed findings with physical activity; Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021 ; Zhang & Chen, 2021 ), and many potential antecedents of purpose have been understudied or not studied at all in older adults over 50 years of age (many studies on predictors of purpose contain young and middle-aged participants younger than 45 years of age; e.g., Weziak-Bialowolska et al, 2021 ).…”