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Mastery, physical activity and psychological distress in mid-aged adults
Adam J Novic1,2,3, Charrlotte Seib3,4, Nicola W Burton1,2,3
1School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Objective:
The objective was to investigate associations between mastery and physical activity with psychological distress in a population-based sample of mid-aged adults.
Method:
Self-reported measures of psychological distress, mastery and time spent in each of walking, moderate and vigorous physical activity in the previous week were examined in a cross-sectional sample of 7,146 adults aged 40-64 years (M = 53 years, SD = 6.5 years, 42.4% men). Generalized Linear Models were used to examine the inter-relationship between mastery and physical activity with psychological distress.
Results:
In fully adjusted models, only mastery was significantly associated with psychological distress (β = - 0.12, SE = 0.01, p < .01). There was no significant interaction between mastery and physical activity on psychological distress.
Conclusions:
Mastery may be an important resource against psychological distress. A sense of control may therefore be a key component for psychotherapeutic interventions to mitigate distress in mid-aged adults.
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