Understanding physical activity lapses among women: responses to lapses and the potential buffering effect of social support

Many women fail to meet recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Limited research has examined women’s barriers to PA adoption during attempts to increase PA—in particular, how often they experience PA lapses (i.e., failure to meet PA goals), their cognitive–affective responses to lapses, and the role of social support in preventing or responding to lapses. The present study assessed weekly variability in PA lapses, cognitive–affective responses to lapses, and social support related to PA among women participating in a partner-based PA program (n = 20). Multilevel modeling showed that greater PA self-efficacy and more frequent partner communication predicted fewer lapses during the concurrent or subsequent week (ps < 0.02). Interestingly, greater self-forgiveness for lapsing also predicted more lapses the subsequent week (p = 0.04), though greater perceived partner support appeared to buffer the negative effect of self-forgiveness on future lapses (p = 0.04). These findings demonstrate the importance of cognitive–affective responses to PA lapses for future PA, as well as the potential benefit of social support for preventing PA lapses among women.