25th Annual Student Research Conference
Prevalence of Exercise Dependence in Exercise Science Majors versus Non-majors
Jessica M. Cashion
Dr. Jerry Mayhew, Faculty Mentor
The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of exercise dependence in ES majors (ES) versus non-ES majors (NES). Academic non-ES majors volunteered from non-science areas of business, accounting, finance, marketing, and art. Subjects were classified as exercise-dependent with scores less than 3.0 on the Exercise Dependence Scale-21 (EDS). Subjects showing symptomatic exercise dependence were included as dependent because symptomatic is not completely nondependent. Of 39 participants, 11 dependent cases (58%) were found in ES (n = 19) versus 5 (25%) in non-ES (n = 20). Mean EDS score for ES was significantly higher than for NES indicating greater dependence. If dependence classification did not include symptomatic subjects, there was no significant difference in exercise dependence between ES and NES. Data suggest exercise dependence is higher in ES majors than in non-ES majors with a greater occurrence in the female population.
Keywords: Exercise, Dependence, Exercise Science, Disordered Behavior, Disorder, Exercise Dependence, Non-major, Major
Topic(s):Exercise Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 207-3
Location: MG 2001
Time: 10:00