EXERCISE AND DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIOUS SYMPTOMS - WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THEIR INTERRELATIONS

Exercise is widely viewed as both therapeutic and prophylactic regardi ng an array of health outcomes. We empirically examined this claim wit h specific reference to depressive and anxious symptoms. The interrela tions of exercise and depressive and anxious symptoms were longitudina lly assessed among a sample of 188 undergraduates over the course of 3 weeks. Depressive and anxious symptoms did not account for changes in self-reported exercise. However consistent with prediction, high self -reported exercise level was associated with increases in self-esteem and decreases in depressive symptoms among women. Increases in self-es teem only partly accounted for decreases in depressive symptoms. Resul ts were specific to depressive vs, anxious symptoms. Among men, a surp rising result emerged: Men who reported higher levels of exercise tend ed to experience decreases in self-esteem and increases in depressive symptoms over the course of the study.