Can Motivation and Self-Efficacy Predict a Law Enforcement Officer's General and Job-Specific Fitness?

Sedentary behaviors contribute to law enforcement officer fitness declines over a career. An officer's motivation (desire to exercise) and self-efficacy (belief in ability to exercise) could affect whether they exercise and predict resulting fitness. Data from 60 officers (48 men, 12 women) were analyzed. Motivation (amotivation, external, introjected, identified, integrated, and intrinsic regulation) was measured via the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire. A 6-item questionnaire assessed coping (confidence in exercising under challenging conditions) and scheduling (confidence in scheduling exercise) self-efficacy. General fitness variables included sit-and-reach, grip strength, 60-s push-ups, 60-s sit-ups, and step test recovery heart rate. Job-specific fitness variables included 99-yard obstacle course, body drag, 6-foot chain link fence and solid wall climbs, and 500-yard run. Stepwise regression, controlling for sex, derived relationships between motivation and self-efficacy, with general and job-specific fitness (p<0.05). Grip strength was predicted by introjected, identified, and integrated motivation (~71% explained variance). Push-ups were predicted by integrated motivation and coping self-efficacy (~43% explained variance). The obstacle course, fence and solid wall climbs, were predicted by coping self-efficacy (~24-47% explained variance). Internal motivation and coping self-efficacy predicted certain general and job-specific fitness metrics. Grip strength, an indicator of muscular strength, was predicted by introjected (internal rewards), identified (exercise is valued), and integrated (exercise integrated within beliefs) regulation. Integrated regulation and coping self-efficacy, or confidence to overcome barriers to exercise, predicted push-ups as a muscular endurance metric. Coping self-efficacy could also contribute to the exercise needed to maintain job-specific fitness relative to obstacle courses and obstacle clearance.