An Examination of Music Majors' Perceived Barriers to Complying with an Exercise Program

This dissertation focused on a mixed-methods exploration of the barriers and motivation to exercise in a sample of music majors at a large southeastern university. Due to dietary concerns and other obstacles to engaging in regular exercise, musicians are at a greater dietary and cardiovascular risk than the general population. Previous research has revealed music majors, in general, do not identify as exercisers. This comes with its obvious health risks. Self-determination theory and exercise identity literature posits individuals who more strongly identify as exercisers and who are more intrinsically motivated to exercise will workout more often and more consistently than those who do not identify as exercisers (i.e., are more extrinsically motivated). It is also hypothesized that participants who more strongly identify as exercisers are more confident in their ability to engage in regular exercise--in spite of the various obstacles that they may face.

This project was divided into Study 1 (a quantitative study) and Study 2 (a qualitative study). For Study 1, music majors at a large southeastern university were selected based on access to specific courses at the university music school. Selection criteria included: (a) being 18 years or older and (b) being enrolled as a music major at the university. Participants were 112 music majors, and they filled out a survey packet containing an informed consent, the Barriers Specific Self-Efficacy Scale (BARSE), the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2), and the Exercise Identity Scale (EIS). Participants for Study 2 were 9 music majors from the Study 1 sample, and their interviews were coded using a modified grounded theory approach.

Results indicate music majors who more strongly identified as exercisers and are more intrinsically motivated to exercise have higher levels of confidence in their perceived ability to overcome barriers to exercise. Further, music majors who more strongly identify as exercisers and have lower levels of intrinsic motivation are more likely to report a higher number of workout sessions per week over the past 3 months. Results from both studies are discussed, along with practical implications for interventions and calls for future research.