Examining Self-Presentational Exercise Motives and Social Physique Anxiety in Men and Women

摘要

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-presentational exercise motives and social physique anxiety (SPA), and the secondary purpose was to examine if gender moderated the relationship between self-presentational exercise motives and SPA. Female (n = 320) and male (n = 154) undergraduate students completed the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) and five subscales of the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 conceptually linked to self-presentation. Correlational analyses revealed patterns of relationships between measures of self-presentational exercise motives and SPA. Regression analyses revealed that the interaction between weight management and gender was a positive predictor of SPA. Potential applications of the results and future research directions are discussed.