Thesis Defence: “Gym Days Are Good Days”: Quality Participation, Happiness, and Exercise Maintenance Among People With Disabilities

Haley A. Berrisford, supervised by Dr. Kathleen Martin Ginis, will defend their thesis titled “‘Gym Days Are Good Days’: Quality Participation, Happiness, and Exercise Maintenance Among People With Disabilities” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Health and Exercise Sciences.

An abstract for Haley A. Berrisford’s thesis is included below.

Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Registration is not required for in-person defences.

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Abstract

Purpose: Quality participation (QP) in exercise for people with disabilities satisfies personal values and needs for autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, mastery, and meaning (Evans et al., 2018). The QP Framework was designed to operate under optimal experience theories and prevalent psychological theories to enhance its applicability (Evans et al., 2018). Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), PERMA Theory of Well-Being (Seligman, 2011, 2018) and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1982, 1997), quality exercise participation experiences should be linked to better subjective well-being and exercise maintenance. However, minimal research has explored these relationships. The objectives of this thesis were (1) to measure QP in exercise over time to determine if repeated quality experiences lead to changes in happiness and (2) to explore the relationship between QP and continued exercise participation among people with disabilities.

Methods: Participants (n=19) were adults with physical disabilities enrolled in a 24-session exercise program with two sessions per week of aerobic and strength training. After each session, participants rated QP using the Measure of Experiential Aspects of Participation (Caron et al., 2019) and happiness using the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Participants were given the opportunity to re-enroll in the program for a subsequent 24 sessions. Participants were categorized as re-enrollers or stoppers and droppers based on their re-enrollment. N-of-1 analysis was conducted to test relationships between QP elements and happiness over time. Individualized data-summary reports were created to inform semi-structured interviews. Eight interviews were conducted to explore reasons for re-enrolling or stopping the program and how their QP and happiness scores resonate with their experiences. Narrative analysis was conducted.
Results: QP was correlated with happiness on an individual basis (r= -0.38 to 0.63, p<0.001 to p=0.96). All QP elements, except engagement, were found to predict happiness. Challenge, belongingness, and meaning were the most valued QP among interviewed participants. Re-enrollers experienced greater QP than the Stoppers and Droppers.

Conclusions: QP is individual and contextual; valued QP elements influence happiness and exercise maintenance and should be considered when designing exercise interventions/programs. QP is valuable to understand the mechanisms behind exercise, behaviour, and psychological variables.