The effect of acceptance and commitment training on improving physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to assess whether applied behavior analysis (ABA) procedures such as feedback, goal setting and stimulus control, combined with acceptance and commitment training (ACTr) interventions implemented digitally improve levels of physical activity, consistency with self-care values and psychological flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across five participants was used in this study. Participants included five women with BMI's in the overweight or obese range. All participants were exposed to two intervention phases. In the first phase, feedback, goal setting and stimulus control procedures were implemented to improve physical activity. In the next phase, these procedures were combined with mindful walking exercises and values clarification exercises. In addition, psychological flexibility related to physical activity and values consistency were measured throughout the study. Results indicated that step count improved with the implementation of ABA + ACTr across all participants. Furthermore, psychological flexibility and self-care value scores improved after the intervention and maintained at 1-week follow-up. Lastly, the impact of physical activity during COVID-19, effectiveness and efficiency of ABA + ACT interventions are discussed.