Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between exercise motivational profiles and stages of exercise behavior change. Four hundred and eighty-six Japanese adults participated in this study. In the first analysis, a cluster analysis identified four meaningful clusters in exercise motivational profiles. The first cluster was labeled the ‘self-determined motivation profile’ as the participants in this cluster had relatively high levels of intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. The second was the ‘moderate motivation profile’ with moderate scores on all measured motivational variables. The third was the ‘nonself-determined motivation profile’ as subjects in this group demonstrated higher nonself-determined motivation than self-determined motivation. The last cluster was the ‘amotivation profile’, which consisted of participants who had the highest scores in amotivation, and the lowest scores in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. The second analysis explored how motivational profiles are related to stages of exercise behavior change. Participants in the first cluster were most likely to be classified in the maintenance stage. The results from this study provided the foundation for successful strategies to develop exercise adherence in adults focusing on motivational profiles. Verf.-Referat