Psychological well-being and exercise addiction: the treatment effects of an REBT intervention for females

Knapp, Sarah, Miller, Anthony ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2271-4728, Outar, Leon and Turner, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1975-5561 (2023) Psychological well-being and exercise addiction: the treatment effects of an REBT intervention for females. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 64. p. 102298. ISSN 1469-0292

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Abstract

Whilst there is growing research on the benefits of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) for athletic performance and wellbeing, there has been little attention on the effectiveness of REBT for the exercising population. Recent evidence suggests that REBT may be helpful for males who show signs of exercise addiction, but the effects for females are currently unknown. The current study aims to build on the extant research by adopting a single-case research design to examine the effects of REBT on irrational beliefs, exercise addiction symptomology, psychological distress, and increasing unconditional self-acceptance (USA) of three female exercisers. Self-report data were collected at pre-, during, and post-REBT timepoints. Visual analyses revealed reductions in irrational beliefs and psychological distress, and increases in USA, maintained two-weeks post-REBT. Exercise addiction symptomology also reduced during the intervention, and this was maintained for two out of the three exercisers post-REBT. Social validation data supported these findings. The study adds weight to the efficacy of REBT in improving exercise addiction and its comorbidities.