The effects of three counseling methods, locus-of-control, and self-motivation on exercise adherence of college students

The purpose of this study was to determine if three exercise counseling treatments, locus of control, and self-motivation affect the exercise adherence of college students enrolled in a health and fitness course. Secondary purposes included determining whether the completion date of a self-paced course, family activity patterns, and/or individual or group exercise affected exercise adherence. Students enrolled in a fitness course (n = 238) completed the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) and the Self-motivation Inventory. Subjects classified as internals on the MHLC were randomly assigned to three treatment groups (contingency contracting, graduated regimen implementation and tailoring) or a control group, and externals were similarly assigned. Subjects met with specified counselors over a ten week period to receive assistance consistent with their treatment groups on their exercise programs. Three and six months after completion of the course, subjects were mailed 7-day re-call questionnaires regarding the amount and type of their current exercise programs. Analyses of variance (p $\leq$ 0.05) revealed that significantly more hours of vigorous exercise were reported by (1) internals than externals, (2) subjects who exercised with others than subjects who exercised alone, and (3) subjects who completed course requirements ahead of time than those who completed the course on time. Significantly more hours of exercise were reported at six months (June) than at three months (March). Correlations revealed a significant positive relationship between exercise adherence and self-motivation. Non-significant differences were found for exercise adherence of (1) subjects in different treatment groups, (2) internals and externals, or subjects with different levels of self-motivation, within the different treatment groups, and (3) subjects from families with different physical activity patterns. This study indicates that being an internal, having high self-motivation, exercising with others, and completing self-paced tasks early have a positive influence on exercise adherence. In addition, students clearly are more active in the summertime than during the academic year. Furthermore, it would appear that exercise counseling strategies and family exercise patterns do not influence exercise adherence. Exercise adherence does not appear to differ between internals and externals within different exercise counseling strategies, nor for subjects with different levels of self-motivation