EXERCISE AND SELF-ESTEEM - VALIDITY OF MODEL EXPANSION AND EXERCISE ASSOCIATIONS

The purpose of this research was to test expansion of the Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM) to include two levels of perceived physical competence as operationalized by the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP). Female aerobic dancers (N = 216, age M = 38.4) were administe red a Self-Esteem scale (SE), the PSPP to assess a general Physical Se lf-Worth (PSW), and more specific subdomains of perceived Sport Compet ence (Sport), Physical Condition (Cond), Attractive Body (Body), and S trength (Stren). Subjects also completed self-efficacy scales for jogg ing, sitting, and aerobic dancing. Confirmatory factor analysis suppor ted model measurement as hypothesized, chi2 = 1,154.88, df = 681, comp arative fit index (CFI) = .913, root mean square residual (RMSR) = .04 7. Structural equation modeling (SEM) supported EXSEM component relati onships as proposed. Further SEM associating two exercise self-reports with EXSEM again displayed satisfactory fit indices and explained up to 27.6% of exercise variance. It was concluded that exercise in adult female aerobic dancers is associated with positive evaluations of the ir physical condition and with negative evaluations of their bodies.