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Abstract

The majority of individuals who lose weight will gain it back within five years. Emotional, cognitive, behavioral and motivational risk factors exist for weight loss relapse. The meta-theory of Basic Psychological Needs, drawn from Self-Determination Theory, appears to offer the most comprehensive of explanations for the lack of self-regulatory behaviors that contribute to weight loss recidivism. This theory provided a foundation for interpreting how the basic motivational needs of autonomy, competence and connectedness relate to the experiences of dieters� perceived threats to their weight-related goals. A qualitative multiple-case study inquiry was conducted with online semi-structured email interviews among a purposive sample of nine participants who were overweight or obese, had been dieting over the last five years, or who maintained a 10% loss for three years or longer. Data collected included emotional regulation strategies, expressions of emotion, behaviors, motivational influences and perceptions to explore the factors influencing goal congruent behavior. Online weight loss forum text was collected to compare the experiences of dieters engaging in structured online support with those of the interview participants. Participants experienced emotional threats most frequently. All indicated emotion they felt incompetent to manage effectively, which led to a continuum of overeating and subsequent reductions in competence and persistence. All threats connected most frequently to competence, mediated by increased relatedness. Participants indicated wide variation in use and solicitation of support, influencing satisfaction of all three needs. Results indicate the importance of targeting contextual knowledge and exploration of the needs to enhance self-awareness, threat adaptability and motivation within technically and adaptively oriented situations. Themes revealed nuanced needs-threatening and satisfying processes. The data may indicate that dieters taking deliberate actions toward needs-satisfying behaviors may perceive goal threats will less intensity, leading to enhanced self-regulation and motivation.

Biography