Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Motivation in Police Cadets: A Self-Determination Study

Several studies have highlighted the importance of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) for the health and performance of law enforcement officers. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion of officers still fail to engage in any LTPA. There is a clear need to identify correlates of physical activity among this specific occupational group to help the design of workplace physical activity interventions. Rooted in the self-determination theory, this study seeks to assess the LTPA level of police cadets and examine its relationship with the different regulatory forms of motivation. In this cross-sectional study, 188 police cadets completed a survey assessing their LTPA level and motivational regulation for physical activity. On average, police cadets reported 395 ± 192 minutes/week of physical activity. Only 12 participants (6.4%) reported physical activity levels lower than the usually recommended minimum levels of 150 minutes/week. Overall, autonomous forms of regulation were by far the most endorsed by police cadets. Finally, LTPA was positively associated with intrinsic regulation (rs = 0.46), identified regulation (rs = 0.30), and introjected regulation (rs = 0.20). To our knowledge, this study is the first to use a theoretical framework to assess the relationship between LTPA and motivation in police cadets. Our results suggest that police cadets are highly active and mainly driven to engage in LTPA through autonomous motivations. The present study highlights the importance of fostering autonomous regulation for physical activity throughout the training of cadets.