Examining the association among physical activity shame, self-compassion, shame-coping styles, and physical activity behavior

  • Kim A. Rogers orcid

    School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
  • Bradley J. Cardinal orcid

    School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
  • John Geldhof orcid

    School of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Article ID: 4122
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/apr4122
Keywords: affect, exercise, maladaptive coping, measurement, Physical Activity Shame Scale, psychology, psychometrics, sport

Abstract

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, to further evaluate the psychometric properties of the Physical Activity Shame Scale (PASS), a new trait self-report measure designed to assess the multifaceted phenomenological experience of shame in the physical domain. Second, to investigate the associations among physical activity shame, physical activity, four maladaptive shame-coping styles––Attack Self, Withdrawal, Attack Other, Avoidance––and self-compassion, a more adaptive response to shame. Results demonstrated further support for the PASS as a psychometrically sound measure of physical activity shame with high internal consistency and evidence of validity based on factor structure and associations with other variables. Consistent with predictions, physical activity shame was negatively linked to self-compassion and physical activity, and positively linked with maladaptive shame-coping styles. Conversely, self-compassion was positively linked to physical activity and negatively linked with maladaptive shame-coping styles. In the current study, women were significantly higher than men in physical activity shame, Attack Self, Withdrawal, and Attack Other, while men were significantly higher than women in self-compassion. Furthermore, we found significant indirect effects of physical activity shame on physical activity via both self-compassion and Attack Self. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Published
2026-06-08
How to Cite
Rogers, K. A., Cardinal, B. J., & Geldhof, J. (2026). Examining the association among physical activity shame, self-compassion, shame-coping styles, and physical activity behavior. Applied Psychology Research, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.59400/apr4122
Issue
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2026)
Section
Article

Copyright (c) 2026 Kim A. Rogers, Bradley J. Cardinal, John Geldhof

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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