Barriers And Facilitators Tophysical Activity Among Adults With And Without Current Depressive Symptoms

Physical activity has numerous health benefits, including the reduction of depressive symptoms, which was endorsed by 18.5% of adults in 2019. However, despite these benefits, only 24.2% of adults met the recommended physical activity guidelines in 2020. It is important to understand common barriers and facilitators to physical activity and whether these differ between adults with and without depressive symptoms. PURPOSE: To examine the perceived impact of barriers and facilitators to physical activity in individuals with and without depressive symptoms, and associations with physical activity. METHODS: 165 participants with depressive symptoms (WDS) (90 females; 31.77 ± 10.79 years) and 159 participants without depressive symptoms (WODS) (80 females; 34.51 ± 11.67 years) completed an online survey which assessed the degree that barriers and facilitators influence their physical activity on a 5-point Likert Scale (0 = not at all; 4 = very much). Participants also reported current physical activity through the IPAQ-short form. RESULTS: Individuals WDS relative to those WODS endorsed greater perceived impact of the following barriers: lack of motivation (2.30 ± 1.36 vs 1.30 ± 1.30), my mood (1.95 ± 1.31 vs .72 ± .85), physically too tired (2.30 ± 1.24 vs 1.75 ± 1.12), mentally too tired (2.57 ± 1.26 vs 1.42 ± 1.26), and lack of confidence (1.21 ± 1.35 vs .44 ± .91), p < .001. Those WDS also endorsed greater perceived impact of the following facilitators: performing physical activity at home (1.60 ± 1.42 vs 1.25 ± 1.47) and having reminders (.86 ± 1.08 vs .65 ± 1.05), p < .02. Notably, individuals WODS compared to those WDS reported greater perceived impact of the following facilitators: physical (2.99 ± 1.26 vs 2.66 ± 1.26) and mental (2.81 ± 1.32 vs 2.53 ± 1.29) health benefits, p < .03. Regardless of group, greater perceived barriers were associated with less total physical activity, r’s > -.38, p < .001, while perceived facilitators were correlated with more total physical activity, r’s > .18, p < .03. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that there are differences in the impact of perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity between individuals WDS and WODS. Further, the perceived impact of the identified barriers and facilitators correlated with total physical activity, regardless of depressive symptoms.