The effect of twelve weeks of exercise on depression, self-esteem, and locus-of-control in a wellness program sample of women aged 65 and older

Because half of age-related physical losses result from inactivity and disuse, and loss frequently antecedes depression and decreased self-esteem; exercise intervention offers potential physiological and psychological benefits. Self-efficacy and personal control is additionally promoted in a wellness concept program. The effect of twelve weeks of wellness-oriented exercise upon depression, self-esteem, and locus of control orientation is studied in an exercise and non-exercise control group of community residing women 65 and older. Statistically significant post-exercise changes result from reductions in two self-report measures of depression in the exercise group, and increased self-esteem scores in the control group. A non-representative sample may account for high pre-exercise scores in all three dependent variables. A replication with a larger, random, representative sample of older people and domain-specific measures is recommended to improve the study of hypothesized psychological benefits associated with exercise