Passion moderates the relationship between exercise identity and compulsive exercise

Highlights

• Exercise identity was associated with all aspects of Compulsive Exercise (CE)

• Compulsive desire to engage in an activity had little association with CE

• Individuals with low harmonious passion had higher Compulsive Exercise behaviours

• Exercisers with low passion may be at risk for CE and related pathology

There remains limited understanding and mixed results around predictors of compulsive exercise, especially outside of eating disorder populations and settings. Research is also limited by operationalisation of compulsive exercise as a unidimensional construct, despite evidence that it is best understood and examined as multi-dimensional. Given that compulsive exercise is also observed in the general exercise population, increased understanding around predictors of compulsive exercise is needed. This study examined the relationship between dimensions of compulsive exercise (Compulsive Exercise Test) with obsessive and harmonious passion (the Passion Scale) and exercise identity (the Exercise Identity Scale) in a sample of N = 1184 Australian general exercisers. Correlation, regression and moderation analyses indicated that exercise identity was associated with all dimensions of compulsive exercise, although strength and direction of relationships varied. Harmonious passion was related to several dimensions of compulsive exercise and also moderated relationships between identity with weight-control exercise, mood improvement and lack of exercise enjoyment, whereas obsessive passion moderated the relationship between identity and lack of exercise enjoyment only. Results highlight that compulsive exercise dimensions have nuanced relationships with other variables and that examination of dimensions can increase understanding around compulsive exercise. Harmonious passion predicted more aspects of compulsive exercise than obsessive passion. Individuals with high exercise identity, and those with low harmonious passion may be more at risk of poor outcomes including compulsive exercise pathology and other related outcomes.