Negative symptoms are associated with lower autonomous motivation towards physical activity in people with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE This cross-sectional study examined the association between psychiatric symptoms and motivation for physical activity within the self-determination theory (SDT) framework in people with schizophrenia. METHOD Over a 4-month period, 55 (17♀) inpatients with a DSM-V diagnosis of schizophrenia were assessed with the Psychosis Evaluation tool for Common use by Caregivers (PECC) and the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2), that provided separate scores for amotivation, external, introjected and autonomous regulation. Spearman correlation coefficients were examined between these motivation scores and symptom ratings. RESULTS The BREQ-2 score for autonomous regulations (2.6±1.1) was significantly correlated with the PECC negative symptoms score (10.3±4.1) (r=-0.34, p=0.011). No other significant correlations between BREQ-2 and PECC scores were found. The BREQ-2 score for external regulations (0.7±0.9) was associated with older age (35.2±11.3years) (r=-0.30, p=0.024). CONCLUSIONS These findings provide evidence that negative symptoms are associated with lower autonomous motivation towards physical activity in inpatients with schizophrenia. Future longitudinal research should confirm the current findings. Such research will guide physical activity approaches aimed at facilitating enhanced physical and mental health outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia.