The purpose of this randomized controlled pilot trial is to test the effectiveness of a six-week tailored physical activity program with and without peer mentoring on the psychological constructs and exercise behaviour of inactive undergraduate women. The objectives are to:
* Quantify the degree to which a peer-mentorship intervention affects exercise motivation determined through three basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). * Examine general psychological distress and exercise engagement throughout the study. * Qualitatively explore participants' experiences following the completion of the program using an open-ended survey to gain a better understanding of its impact.
Researchers will compare the parallel arm conditions to see how the inclusion of social support impacts exercise engagement.
Participants will be asked to engage in exercise three times a week at the campus gym; those in the intervention condition will have an assigned peer-mentor who will join them for one weekly session and virtually communicate with them between sessions.
Identify as a woman
Full-time undergraduate student at Lakehead University
Classified as an exercise initiate (e.g., report one or fewer bouts of exercise per week)
Reported an absence of health risks that would interfere with exercise engagement as determined by the Get Active Questionnaire
Identify as a man
Not enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student at Lakehead University
Report the presence of health risks that would interfere with exercise engagement
Meet the national physical activity guidelines (e.g., 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week)
Parallel
Intervention
Other interventionParticipants will be encouraged to engage in independent exercise twice a week for 30 minutes. They will be randomly assigned to a peer-mentor, with whom they will engage in on-on-one exercise once a week for 30 minutes. Between sessions, they will engage in virtual communication with each other for about 30 minutes each week. Each participant-mentor duo will continue this protocol for 6-weeks.
Control
Other interventionParticipants will be encouraged to engage in exercise three times a week for thirty minutes, over a span of 6-weeks.
Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Exercsie Scale
Participants' exercise motivation, focused on the psychological needs and specific regulations, will be assessed quantitatively using The Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Exercise Scale. This 18-question tool, participants will evaluate each statement based on how it applied to them over the past week on a six-point scale (1= false, 6= true). In this scale, six statements are allotted for each of the three basic needs (e.g., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in the context of exercise engagement. Subscale scores will be calculated by averaging the six items assigned to each basic psychological need, with higher scores being more indicative of greater self-determination and lower of less.
Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire- 3
This questionnaire will be used to to gauge where an individual falls on the six-point motivational continuum, as it relates to exercise engagement. This will be assessed quantitatively using the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-3, as participants will evaluate each statement based on how it applied to them over the past week. The 24-questions in this measure operate on a five-point Likert scale (0= not true for me, 2= sometimes true for me, 4= very true for me). In this questionnaire, four statements have been allocated for each of the six types of regulation/motivation (e.g., motivation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, intrinsic regulation, external regulation). Subscale scores will be calculated by averaging the six items assigned to each basic psychological need, with higher scores being more indicative of greater intrinsic motivation and lower of greater extrinsic motivation.
Depression Anxiety Stress Scale- Short Form
Participants' general psychological distress will be quantitatively measured through the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale- Short Form. The 21-question scale operates on a four-point Likert scale (0= never, 1= sometimes, 2= often, 3= almost always), and asks participants to evaluate each statement based on how it applied to them over the past week. In this scale, seven questions were allotted to each of the three categories (e.g., depression, anxiety, and stress). When scoring the DASS-21, the scores for each of the three categories are independently summed to gain a final score, with higher scores being indicative of severe psychological distress and lower scores suggest average or typical symptoms.
Exercise Tracking- Gym location
Participants' exercise engagement will be measured via a virtual exercise monitoring platform, Strava. Participants will upload their workouts each week, revealing the area of the gym they used (e.g., Hangar, Wolf Den, Basement).
Exercise Tracking- Duration
Participants' exercise engagement will be measured via a virtual exercise monitoring platform, Strava. Participants will upload their workouts each week, revealing the duration of their session.
Exercise Tracking- Workout Details
Participants' exercise engagement will be measured via a virtual exercise monitoring platform, Strava. Participants will upload their workouts each week, revealing the type of workout they engaged in (e.g., cardio, upper body strength, lower body strength, full body strength training).
Qualitative Experiential Accounts- Open Ended Questionnaire
Upon completion of the program, all participants will complete an open-ended questionnaire to gain an in-depth understanding of their program experiences. This questionnaire is comprised of open-ended questions adopted from previous research in this area and includes questions regarding topics such as exercise habits, motivation, three basic psychological needs, and perceptions of the SHINE program.
Facility Usage Data- Frequency
Facility usage data will be monitored through Lakehead University's Athletics platform and will include dates and times signed in at the gym.
Communication Data- Frequency
Communication usage data between participants and their peer mentors will be monitored by the student researcher through GroupMe, an online messaging platform.
Demographic Information- Program of study
Demographic questions to assist the researchers in understanding the population characteristics will be asked at the outset of the study, including their program of study.
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Lakehead University
Lead sponsor
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Collaborator
St. Joseph's Care Group
Collaborator
