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DeClerck, Drew Alexander

University of British Columbia

There is an ever-growing case for the benefits of physical activity on a plethora of physiological and psychological outcomes. Likewise, an abundance of evidence highlights the various benefits of positive close relationships. However, little is known about the impact of physical activity on close relationships. The limited research examining this association suggests a link between these variables. However, many questions remain unanswered. Moreover, even less is known about the impact of physical activity on relationship outcomes for mothers of autistic children. The present study aimed to address these issues via an exploratory analysis of the effect of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) on the quality of partner interactions, both contemporaneously and over an 18-month period. Depressive symptoms and emotions were examined as candidate mediators of the relationship between LTPA and partner interactions. A subsample of 126 cohabiting female participants was drawn from the SAGE trial, a larger study examining stress, coping, emotion regulation, and aging of chronically stressed mothers. Participants were mothers caring for an autistic child (n = 59) and a matched comparison group of mothers caring for a neurotypical child (n = 67). Data was captured via cross-sectional surveys and ecological momentary assessments at baseline, 9-months, and 18-months. Path analysis on the total sample revealed that, at baseline, the association between LTPA and partner interactions was significantly mediated by positive and negative emotions. However, these effects were not consistent at the follow-up assessments. Longitudinal analyses failed to demonstrate significant mediation effects over time. Regarding between group differences, those in the caregiving group reported greater depressive symptoms and negative emotions, and lower positive emotions. Additionally, LTPA had a stronger association with positive emotions among the caregiver group at 9-months. Results from the present study provide preliminary evidence for a positive association between LTPA and partner interactions, due in part to more positive, and less negative, emotions. Results indicate that positive emotions may play a more important role in explaining the associations between LTPA and partner interactions for mothers of autistic children. Future studies should replicate and expand on these findings. A number of recommendations for future investigations are made.

Text

2022-06-15

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/81754

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/