Differences across ethnicity and gender on the affective impact of self-efficacy during and after exercise.

Research has suggested that higher self-efficacy is associated with not only greater improvements to mood following exercise, but also less perceived exertion during exercise. Though differences between gender and ethnicity have been reported in behaviors, beliefs, and self-efficacy regarding physical activity, the majority of studies exploring this relationship between self-efficacy and exercise related affect have used homogenous subject pools and do not take into account gender and cultural differences between subjects. The current study used an exercise task with self-efficacy ratings and pre- and post-exercise mood measurements as well as in-task ratings of perceived exertion to investigate potential differences between gender and ethnic groups, regarding this relationship between self-efficacy and exercise-related mood states. The results of this study found that affective responses that were influenced by self-efficacy varied among different ethnic/gender combinations.