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Moderate Aerobic Exercise, T'ai Chi, and Social Problem-Solving Ability in Relation to Psychological Stress

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International Journal of Stress Management

Abstract

This study evaluated the importance of exercise mode, social problem-solving ability, gender, and age in relation to anxiety and perceived daily hassles. Adult participants were classified as moderate aerobic exercisers, T'ai Chi exercisers, or sedentary via completion of a questionnaire. Social problem-solving ability, state and trait anxiety, and frequency and severity of daily hassles were measured. As predicted, scores indicating effective social problem-solving ability were associated with fewer reported severe daily hassles and with lower scores on state and trait anxiety. For state and trait anxiety, a main effect of exercise mode emerged after age and gender were controlled. A 3-way interaction involving age, gender, and exercise mode suggested that age and gender moderate the effects of exercise on anxiety, that is, the stress-reducing efficacy of different exercise modes may be dependent on a person's age and/or gender. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284-2037

    Dale S. Bond

  2. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

    Roseann M. Lyle, Marlene K. Tappe & Roger S. Seehafer

  3. State University of New York, Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York

    Thomas J. D'Zurilla

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  1. Dale S. Bond
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  2. Roseann M. Lyle
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  3. Marlene K. Tappe
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  4. Roger S. Seehafer
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  5. Thomas J. D'Zurilla
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Bond, D.S., Lyle, R.M., Tappe, M.K. et al. Moderate Aerobic Exercise, T'ai Chi, and Social Problem-Solving Ability in Relation to Psychological Stress. International Journal of Stress Management 9, 329–343 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019934417236

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