| Habitual physical activity has been shown to be related to coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. A concern among mental health professionals is that many are exercising well beyond the health promotion threshold. In their search for "super fit" bodies, individuals have exercised to the point of injury and perhaps, self-destruction. Running has been a major source of abuse by these individuals. Researchers have termed this compulsion as negative addiction to running, or "obligatory running.";Running studies have identified several characteristics of obligatory runners. The characteristics can be classified into three categories: behavioral, psychological and socio-cultural. Although these characteristics have been identified in various studies, there has not been an attempt to build a model and to validate risk factors of obligatory running. The objective of this study was to develop a psycho-social risk profile of an obligatory runner.;An Adult Running Questionnaire was distributed to 500 runners (male and female) at various running sites around the Houston area. The independent variables included: stimulation and arousal needs, neuroticism, introversion, social support and leisure time available. The dependent variable was obligatory running.;Multiple regression was used to identify and quantify the psychological domains of obligatory running. The results of this analysis showed that neuroticism was the only independent variable that was related to obligatory running, but it accounted for a small percentage of the obligatory running variance (7.6%). The results also revealed that obligatory running was not a yes or no condition but rather that it was a matter of degree. Thus, obligatory running appeared to occur along a continuum, from low to high addiction.;The runners of this study tended to be extroverts, tended to be low sensation seekers, perceived themselves as having strong social support, and their amount of leisure time did not affect their level of addiction to running. |
