Differentiated roles of social encouragement and social constraint on physical activity behavior.

BACKGROUND Social support is, in general, positively associated with exercise behavior. However, social influence may not always be helpful and may sometimes lead to obligation or a sense of intrusion rather than encouragement or assistance. PURPOSE The objective was to determine relationships among different types of social influence (social encouragement and social constraint) and exercise motivation and exercise behavior. METHOD Structural equation modeling was used to investigate relationships among exercise and social influence variables. RESULTS A model was found to fit the data well in which social encouragement had an indirect association with exercise behavior through motivational variables. Social constraint was associated with only one aspect of exercise motivation--"have to", or obligatory, commitment--and had no direct or indirect association with exercise behavior. CONCLUSIONS These findings emphasize the importance of social influences that promote desirable behaviors in contrast to those that pose constraints on the failure to perform desirable behaviors.