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Self‐Efficacy, Decision‐Making, and Stages of Change: An Integrative Model of Physical Exercise 1
Author(s) -
Marcus Bess H.,
Eaton Cheryl A.,
Rossi Joseph S.,
Harlow Lisa L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1994.tb00595.x
Subject(s) - structural equation modeling , psychology , mediation , confirmatory factor analysis , psychological intervention , population , sample (material) , physical exercise , physical activity , clinical psychology , social psychology , applied psychology , physical therapy , statistics , medicine , environmental health , chemistry , mathematics , chromatography , psychiatry , political science , law
Exercise has important health benefits but a large proportion of the population is physically inactive. We examined the stages of readiness to exercise and their relationship to self‐efficacy, the costs and benefits of exercising, and self‐report of physical activity in a sample of Rhode Island worksites. Using a three‐step model‐building approach, exploratory principal components analyses were followed by an examination of the stages of change model with confirmatory structural equation modeling procedures. The model was then examined with longitudinal data. Confirmatory and longitudinal analyses showed an excellent tit between the model and the data. Results indicated that the costs and benefits of exercise and self‐efficacy for exercise were related to physical activity only indirectly, through the mediation of stage of readiness to exercise. Structural modeling fit indices revealed that much of the variation and covariation in physical activity was explained by the model. There is the potential to enhance the impact of exercise interventions, by targeting them so as to address factors related to these different stages of readiness.