Received social support and exercising: An intervention study to test the enabling hypothesis

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Health Psychology
• Exercise Science

Background:

• Received social support is crucial for maintaining health-enhancing exercise participation.
• The enabling hypothesis posits that social support indirectly influences behavior through self-regulation constructs like self-efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test an expanded enabling hypothesis of social support in relation to exercise.
• To examine the roles of emotional and instrumental social support on exercise, mediated by self-efficacy, self-monitoring, and action planning.

Main Methods:

• An 8-week online intervention study with random assignment to an intervention (exercising with a new companion) or control group.
• A manifest multigroup model was used to compare group effects.

Main Results:

• In the intervention group, emotional social support positively predicted self-efficacy, self-monitoring, and action planning.
• Emotional social support indirectly influenced exercise, primarily through self-efficacy.
• Instrumental social support did not show direct or indirect effects on exercise.

Conclusions:

• Actively seeking an exercise companion and exercising together enhances social support, particularly emotional support.
• Emotional support promotes exercise by improving self-regulation, especially self-efficacy.
• This study provides intervention-based evidence for the enabling hypothesis of social support in physical exercise.