Affiliations: [a] Department of Sport Management, Wellness, and Physical Education, College of Education, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, USA
| [b] Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| [c] Department of Kinesiology and Health, College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Dr. Duke D. Biber, Department of Sport Management, Wellness, and Physical Education, College of Education University of West Georgia. Carrollton, GA 30118, USA. E-mail: dbiber@westga.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Desire2Move (D2M) is an 8-week team-based, workplace program that incorporates competition and self-monitoring to encourage physical activity (PA). OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-compassion (SC) intervention within the existing workplace PA program. METHODS:University employees (n = 20) were assigned to a SC treatment group or an attention control group. Participants logged their PA minutes using MapMyRun. Treatment group. participants received a 7-week, SC podcast intervention. Participants self-reported PA, SC, and demographic information at pre- and post-intervention. Separate ANOVAs were used to determine group differences. RESULTS:There was not a statistically significant group x time interaction for SC, F(1, 18) = 0.02, p = 0.90, or main effects for time, F(1, 18) = 0.28, p = 0.61, or group, F(1, 18) = 1.70, p = 0.21, g = –0.42 [95%CI = –3.13, 2.29]. There were not significant differences between groups for total PA minutes during D2M, F(1, 18) = 2.15, p = 0.16, g = –0.63 [–1.53,0.27]. Overall, participants engaged in more than the recommended levels of PA each week. CONCLUSIONS:This pilot study provided feedback and guidance for future online SC training within a workplace PA intervention.
