Understanding athletic and exercise identity in relation to disordered eating behaviors

Area of Science:

• Sports Psychology
• Eating Disorders
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Athletic identity and exercise identity are distinct constructs.
• Disordered eating and exercise behaviors are significant public health concerns.
• Understanding the psychological factors influencing these behaviors is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the associations between athletic identity and exercise identity with disordered eating and exercise behaviors.
• To determine if exercise identity is a stronger predictor of these behaviors than athletic identity.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted with adult participants completing online questionnaires.
• Study 1 assessed athletic identity and disordered eating behaviors.
• Study 2 included measures of exercise identity, exercise behaviors, and a broader range of disordered eating behaviors. Statistical analyses included multiple linear regressions and dominance analyses.

Main Results:

• Athletic identity was not significantly associated with disordered eating in Study 1, but showed an association with lower cognitive restraint in Study 2.
• Stronger exercise identity was significantly associated with increased cognitive restraint, body dissatisfaction, compulsive exercise, and healthy exercise behaviors.
• Dominance analyses indicated that exercise identity explained more unique variance in these outcomes compared to athletic identity.

Conclusions:

• Exercise identity, unlike athletic identity, appears to be a significant risk factor for disordered eating and exercise behaviors.
• These findings suggest that interventions targeting exercise identity may be beneficial in addressing disordered eating and exercise patterns in the general population.