Interest and Perseverance Are Not Enough to Be Physically Active: The Importance of Self-Efficacy toward Healthy Eating and Healthy Weight to Move More in Adolescents.

(1) Background: Insufficient physical activity in adolescents remains an important issue for health promotion. Given the current relevance of understanding the adoption and maintenance of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA), the aim of this study was to analyze, in a sample of adolescents, the role of grit personality as an antecedent of healthy eating and healthy weight (HEW) self-efficacy and its implications for the practice of MVPA. (2) Methods: Participants were 987 adolescents (597 girls, 390 boys) aged between 15 and 19 years from Mexico and Spain. The Spanish versions of the grit personality scale, the healthy eating and weight self-efficacy scale and the global physical activity questionnaire were used to measure the variables of interest. (3) Results: Mediated regression analysis showed that grit personality was not directly related to MVPA practice. However, the results indicate the significant relationship between grit personality and HEW self-efficacy, as well as the positive and significant relationship of this self-efficacy on MVPA practice. HEW self-efficacy totally mediated the relationship between grit personality and MVPA in both boys and girls. (4) Conclusions: These results suggest that having a grit personality (i.e., having interest and perseverance) is not enough for adolescents to be physically active, but that perceiving oneself as effective in having a healthy diet and healthy weight may be the key for adolescents to move more. At the intervention level, we suggest targeting an enhancement of young people's competence to eat healthily and regulate their weight as a strategy to enhance the performance of more MVPA, with a possible transfer between healthy behaviors (spill over).

Physical Activity, Healthy Behavior and Its Motivational Correlates: Exploring the Spillover Effect through Stages of Change.

On the basis of the spillover or transfer effect and the transtheoretical model of change, this study assessed the association between amount of physical activity, healthy and unhealthy weight control behaviors, and motivational types, as well as their variability across stages of change. A total of 1219 randomly selected Mexican adults from 18 to 65 years old, representative of the city of Monterrey (México), participated in the study. Correlation analyses, differences by gender, and multivariate analyses of variance, controlling for age, were performed. We found that in the maintenance stage, there is higher frequency of physical activity more healthy weight control behaviors, as well as higher autonomous motivation. In the contemplation stage, there is less physical activity, a higher frequency of unhealthy weight control behaviors, higher controlled motivation, and amotivation. Relationships were found between the healthy behaviors studied and the interaction dynamics observed across the stages of change, highlighting the key role of the contemplation and maintenance stages in weight control change. Physical activity as a targeted intervention objective could be a gateway to healthier weight control behavior, as well as higher autonomous motivation.

Understanding the antecedents of healthy and unhealthy weight control behaviours: Grit, motivation and self-control.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the psychological antecedents or personal factors that lead to weight control behaviours that can help to develop more effective prevention strategies. DESIGN: The present correlational study has a non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional design. A model was tested considering types of motivation (autonomous motivation, controlled motivation and amotivation) as mediators in the relationship between the Grit personality and healthy and unhealthy weight control behaviours, with self-control as a moderator in the aforementioned indirect effects. SETTING: Monterrey (Nuevo León, México). PARTICIPANTS: A representative sample of 1219 adults (men = 599; women = 620) aged 18-65 years (M = 29·37, sd = 11·83). RESULTS: Findings supported the mediator role of the types of motivation. Specifically, Grit showed a positive indirect effect on healthy weight control behaviours through autonomous motivation. Conversely, Grit showed a negative indirect effect on unhealthy weight control behaviours through autonomous motivation. Furthermore, findings supported the moderator role of self-control in the relationship between amotivation and healthy and unhealthy weight control behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the key role of Grit in the adoption of healthy or unhealthy control behaviours, as well as the role of autonomous motivation in the development of healthy behaviours.

Erratum: Rodríguez-Medellín, R., et al. Mexican Validation of the Engagement and Disaffection in Physical Education Scale. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1821.

The authors wish to add the following correction to their paper published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [...].

Mexican Validation of the Engagement and Disaffection in Physical Education Scale.

To date, no instrument adapted and validated that measures engagement and disaffection in the physical education class has been found, which limits the generation of knowledge of this area in Mexico. The aims of this study were to translate and adapt the engagement and disaffection scale to the context of physical education in Mexico and to examine its reliability, structure (two and four factors), and factorial invariance by gender in Mexican fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students. A total of 1470 students participated (50.6% boys) with ages between 10 and 14 years (mean (M) = 10.56; standard deviation (SD) = 0.77) from federal (89.3%) and state (10.7%) elementary schools. Two factorial structures were tested (with four factors and two factors). The fit indexes of both models were satisfactory, and the factorial saturations were significant. The differences between the fit indexes of both models were irrelevant; therefore, the two-factor model was considered more suitable. The total strict invariance by gender was confirmed, and the reliabilities of the engagement and disaffection scale were acceptable. The Mexican version of the course engagement and disaffection scale in physical education is valid and useful to measure these constructs in the context of physical education in Mexico.

Validation of the Grit Scale and the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) in the Mexican context / Validación de la escala Grit y del Cuestionario de Autorregulación del Tratamiento (TSRQ) al contexto mexicano

Abstract The lack of valid tools to measure variables related to healthy behaviors in Mexico has led the authors to adapt and validate the Grit Scale and the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) for diet into Mexican Spanish, and explore the relationship between grit and types of motivation towards healthy eating as evidence of validity. The Grit Scale and the TSRQ in Spanish were put to 353 adults from the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The Grit Scale was composed of 12 items distributed into two factors (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), and the TSRQ for diet was composed of 15 items distributed into three factors (autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation). Results showed acceptable fit indices for the long and short versions of the Grit Scale, confirming its two-factor structure. In addition, acceptable fit indices were found for the TSRQ for diet, indicating the presence of three latent factors. Significant and positive relationships were found between grit and autonomous motivation, and negative relationships with controlled and amotivation. The analyses carried out indicated that the instruments administrated are valid and reliable tools for use in Mexico.

Resumen La ausencia de instrumentos válidos para medir variables relacionadas con las conductas saludables en México, nos lleva al objetivo de adaptar y validar al idioma español hablado en México la escala Grit y el cuestionario de autorregulación del tratamiento (TSRQ) de la dieta, y explorar la relación entre el Grit y la motivación hacia la alimentación saludable como evidencia de validez. 353 adultos del estado de Nuevo León respondieron a la escala Grit adaptada al español conformada por 12 ítems distribuidos en dos factores (consistencia del interés y perseverancia del esfuerzo) y al TSRQ adaptada al español compuesto por 15 ítems en tres factores (motivación autónoma, motivación controlada y no motivación). Los resultados mostraron índices de ajuste aceptables para la versión larga y corta de la escala Grit confirmando su estructura bifactorial. Además, se encontraron índices de ajuste aceptables para el TSRQ de la dieta indicando la presencia de tres factores latentes. Se observaron relaciones significativas y positivas entre el Grit y la motivación autónoma, y de manera negativa con la motivación controlada y no motivación. Los análisis realizados indican que los instrumentos administrados son herramientas válidas y confiables para ser utilizadas en México.