The moderating influence of social cognition in the relationship between affect and physical activity in adolescents: An ecological momentary assessment study

Affective states influence subsequent engagement in physical activity, but the nature of this relationship varies substantially from person-to-person (e.g., negative affect may precede increased physical activity for some adolescents and decreased for others). Explore which variables may explain the individual differences in the relationship between incidental affect and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This study explores social cognitive variables as moderators of the relationship between incidental affect and MVPA through a 20-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, in which 100 adolescents aged 13-18 years old ( M =14.45, SD =1.37) were asked to complete a baseline assessment of their self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. Subsequently, wore an Actigraph (wGT3X-BT) accelerometer 24 hours per day on their non-dominant wrist and answered EMA surveys assessing affect 4 times per day using time-based signaling. Within-person negative affect predicted MVPA ( b = -0.15 p < .05) with 95% CI [-0.29, -0.01], as did between-person negative affect ( b = 0.08 p < .05) with 95% CI [0.01, 0.15]. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between within-person negative affect and self-efficacy such that for individuals low in self-efficacy (< 2.08 on a 5-point scale) increased negative affect led to decreased MVPA ( b = -.06, p < .05), but not for individuals high in self-efficacy (> 5.14 on a 5-point scale; b =.07, p < .05). Results indicate that self-efficacy is an important target for overcoming the deleterious effects of momentary negative affect on MVPA and suggests just-in-time intervention techniques for individuals who are typical or low in self-efficacy. • Affective states have a well-documented effect on physical activity engagement. • The current project used 80 ecological momentary assessment observations across 20 days to determine whether social cognitive variables could explain the influence of affect on physical activity. • Self-efficacy emerged as an important explanatory variable for the individual difference observed in the associations between affect and physical activity.