Stress, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and resilience—The effects of naturalistic periods of elevated stress: A measurement‐burst study

• Published in: Psychophysiology Vol. 58; no. 8; pp. e13846 - n/a
• Main Authors: Lines, Robin L. J., Ducker, Kagan J., Ntoumanis, Nikos, Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, Cecilie, Fletcher, David, Gucciardi, Daniel F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Cortisol; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; Female; Hair - metabolism; hair cortisol; Humans; Hydrocortisone - metabolism; Light; Longitudinal Studies; Male; measurement burst; multilevel modeling; Physical activity; psychological capital; Resilience, Psychological - physiology; Sedentary Behavior; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Students - psychology; Universities; Young Adult; measurement burst; multilevel modeling; psychological capital; hair cortisol
• ISSN: 0048-5772; 1469-8986; 1540-5958
• DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13846

Stress is an important consideration for understanding why individuals take part in limited or no physical activity. The negative effects of stress on physical activity do not hold for everyone, so examinations of possible resilience resources that might protect individuals from the harmful effects of stress are required. Accordingly, we conducted a measurement‐burst study with 53 university students over a 6‐month period to examine the dynamics among stress, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and resilience resources. Participants completed three bursts of 6 days, with each burst separated by an 8‐week gap. Expectations regarding the moderating effects of resilience resources were unsupported. Daily reports of academic and general stress were positively associated with sedentary behavior and negatively associated with light and moderate intensity physical activity. Hair cortisol concentration significantly moderated the association between academic stress and sedentary behavior, such that in bursts where cortisol was lower the daily positive association between stress and sedentary behavior was weaker. The finding that academic and general stress are dynamically associated with lower levels of light and moderate intensity physical activity and higher levels of sedentary behavior is an important extension to previous research, which has relied mainly on cross‐sectional designs and self‐report methods. Future research might examine resilience resources that are specific to the outcomes of interest rather than rely on generic resources. This is the first longitudinal measurement‐burst study examining associations between stress, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and resilience, utilizing objectively measured physical activity and biological and subjective indices of stress. Although the moderating effects of resilience resources were unsupported, stress was associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher levels of sedentary behavior.