Relational Motivation and Exercise in Athletes

Previous research has found that people who exercise with a partner have more relationally-autonomous reasons than others and therefore exercise more. No research has examined these effects on people who exercise daily, such as student-athletes. This current study tested the relationship between relationally-autonomous reasons (RARs) and exercise in student-athletes. Participants were 44 student athletes from Eastern Kentucky University that completed a questionnaire on their health lifestyle. The results indicate that athletes with higher levels of relationally-autonomous reasons exercise more than athletes with lower RARs