Running to get "lost"? Two types of escapism in recreational running and their relations to exercise dependence and subjective well-being

Frode Stenseng; Ingvild Bredvei Steinsholt; Beate Wold Hygen; Pål Kraft

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1035196

Running to get "lost"? Two types of escapism in recreational running and their relations to exercise dependence and subjective well-being

Front Psychol. 2023 Jan 25:13:1035196. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1035196. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Frode Stenseng^{1

2}, Ingvild Bredvei Steinsholt³, Beate Wold Hygen⁴, Pål Kraft^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
² Oslo University College, Oslo, Norway.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Norwegian University of Science and Technology Social Research, Trondheim, Norway.

Abstract

Escapism is a fundamental motivation in many forms of activity engagements. At its core, escapism is "a habitual diversion of the mind … as an escape from reality or routine". Accordingly, escapism may entail many adaptive and maladaptive psychological antecedents, covariates, and outcomes. However, few studies have been conducted on escapism as a motivational mindset in running. Here, in a sample of recreational runners (N = 227), we applied a two-dimensional model of escapism, comprising self-expansion (adaptive escapism) and self-suppression (maladaptive escapism), and examined how they were related to exercise dependence and subjective well-being. First, confirmatory factor analyses showed that the escapism dimensions were highly diversifiable in the sample. Then, correlational analyses showed that self-expansion was positively correlated to subjective well-being, whereas self-suppression was negatively related to well-being. Self-suppression was more strongly related to exercise dependence compared to self-expansion. Finally, path analyses evidenced an explanatory role of self-expansion and self-suppression in the inverse relationship between exercise dependence and well-being. In conclusion, the present findings support escapism as a relevant framework for understanding the relationship between exercise dependence in running and subjective well-being.

Keywords: addiction; affect; coping; emotion regulation; flow.