Examining the Contributions of Perceived Psychological Need Satisfaction to Well-Being in Exercise

This investigation examined the relationship between perceived psychological need satisfaction and well-being in exercise. Participants in Study 1 were women enrolled in a resistance-training program who completed instruments on two occasions across 12 weeks. Changes in perceived need satisfaction and subjective vitality were evident, and residual change score analyses supported covariation between variables over time. Participants in Study 2 were patrons of a university fitness facility who completed instruments once following an exercise session. Canonical correlation analyses indicated that perceived need satisfaction was differentially associated with positive and negative affect. These results suggest that perceived psychological need satisfaction in exercise contributes to global and contextual well-being.