Can motivation and self-efficacy predict a law enforcement officer’s general and job-specific fitness?

The fitness of law enforcement officers generally declines over their career. Sedentary behaviors contribute to these declines, so it is important for officers to complete some form of exercise to maintain their general and job-specific fitness. An officer’s motivation (desire to exercise) and self efficacy (SE; belief in ability to exercise) could affect whether they exercise and their resulting fitness levels.

Purpose:
To determine whether motivation and SE could predict general and job-specific fitness in law enforcement officers.

Methods:
Data from 60 officers (48 men, 12 women)from one agency were analyzed. Motivation was measured via the 24-item Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire, and categorized as introjected, identified, integrated, intrinsic, external, and amotivation. A 6-item questionnaire assessed coping (confidence in performing exercise under challenging conditions) and scheduling (confidence in managing schedule and making time for exercise) SE, with items assessed on a scale of 0 (not confident) to 100 (completely confident). General fitness variables included sit-and-reach, grip strength, 60-s push-ups, 60-s sit-ups, and YMCA step test recovery heart rate. Job-specific fitness was measured by a 99-yard obstacle course, 165-lb body drag, 6-foot chain link fence climb, 6-foot solid wall climb, and 500-yard run. Stepwise regression, controlling for sex, derived relationships between motivation, and coping and scheduling SE, with general and job-specific fitness (p<0.05).

Results:
All variables that were significantly predicted by a motivation or SE variable included sex in the relationship (Table 1). Grip strength was predicted by introjected, identified, and integrated motivation (explained variance =~71%). Push-ups were predicted by integrated motivation and coping SE (explained variance = ~43%). The 99-yard obstacle course, and chain link fence and solid wall climbs, were predicted by coping SE (explained variance = ~24-47%).

Conclusions:
Internal motivation and coping SE were able to predict certain general and job-specific fitness metrics. Grip strength, as an indicator of muscular strength, was predicted by introjected(avoidance of guilt), identified (exercise is valued), and integrated (exercise integrated within a belief system) regulation. Integrated regulation and
coping SE, or the confidence to overcome obstacles to exercise, predicted push-ups as a muscular endurance metric. Coping SE could also contribute to the exercise needed to maintain job-specific fitness relative to obstacle courses and obstacle clearance.

Practical applications:
Internal motivation was important for officers with better muscular strength and endurance. Law enforcement training staff should developstrategies to target introjected, identified, and integrated regulation in officers. Provision of tools to develop coping SE could benefit muscularendurance and job-specific fitness tasks (obstacle courses, fence and wall climbs).