Search

We draw upon transformational leadership theory to develop an instrument to measure transformational parenting for use with adolescents. First, potential items were generated that were developmentally appropriate and evidence for content validity was provided through the use of focus groups with parents and adolescents. We subsequently provide evidence for several aspects of construct validity of measures derived from the Transformational Parenting Questionnaire (TPQ). Data were collected from 857 adolescents (M(age) = 14.70 years), who rated the behaviors of their mothers and fathers. The results provided support for a second-order measurement model of transformational parenting. In addition, positive relationships between mothers' and fathers' transformational parenting behaviors, adolescents' self-regulatory efficacy for physical activity and healthy eating, and life satisfaction were found. The results of this research support the application of transformational leadership theory to parenting behaviors, as well as the construct validity of measures derived from the TPQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate content of the psychology of physical activity research over the past 20years. METHOD: Volumes of 10 journals, identified by impact factor and relevance to physical activity were audited every other year, during the period of 1990-2008. Inclusion criteria were studies that measured a physical activity outcome, and/or a psychological outcome as a result of physical activity. Data were extracted and coded based on 15 factors. RESULTS: The review yielded 889 studies for analysis. Total volume of studies (from 127 in the 1990s to 762 in the 2000s), and the proportionate content space allotted to journals has increased significantly across 20years (effect size w=0.24) (Cohen, 1992). Many study characteristics (assessment of minority/high-risk groups, self-report measurement, cross-sectional designs) have not changed. There was evidence, however, of less growth in research among older adults and young children (effect size w=0.15) compared to other age groups (effect size w=0.24), a move from pure measurement studies (effect size w=0.21) to descriptive research (effect size w=0.27), and considerable growth in environmental correlates research across time (effect size w=0.41) in the 10 journals sampled. CONCLUSION: The behavioral science of physical activity has clearly increased in prominence and volume among the 10 journals sampled, but methodological characteristics of research could be improved in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity interventions among youth have resulted in modest outcomes; thus, there is a need to increase the theoretical fidelity of interventions and hone pilot work before embarking on large scale trials. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a planning intervention in comparison to a standard condition on intergenerational physical activity in families with young children. Inactive families ( N = 85) were randomized to either a standard condition (received physical activity guidelines and a local municipal healthy active living guide) or the intervention (physical activity guidelines, local municipal healthy active living guide + planning material) after completing a baseline questionnaire package. Sixty-five families (standard condition n = 34; intervention condition n = 31) completed the 4 week follow-up questionnaire package. Complete cases and intention to treat analyses showed that the planning intervention resulted in higher self-reported family physical activity compared to the standard condition and this was due to an increase in unstructured family activities over the 4 weeks. The results are promising and suggest that theoretical fidelity targeting parent regulation of family activity may be a helpful approach to increasing weekly energy expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to predict physical activity (PA) behaviour in a large, population-based sample of adults. One thousand six hundred and two randomly selected individuals completed two telephone interviews over two consecutive six-month periods assessing PMT constructs. PMT explained 35 per cent and 20 per cent of the variance in intention and behaviour respectively. Coping cognitions as moderators of threat explained 1 per cent of the variance in intention and behaviour. Age and gender as moderators of threat did not provide additional variance in the models. We conclude that salient PMT predictors (e.g. self-efficacy) may guide the development of effective PA interventions in the general population. Copyright © 2009 SAGE Publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prescription characteristics and guidelines of recommended physical activity have been suggested as factors that may affect behavioural adherence; however, no review has critically appraised the current evidence. Thus, the purpose of this article was to review the effect of frequency, intensity, duration and mode on physical activity adherence and provide meta-analytical summaries of the findings. A total of 27 peer-reviewed studies met inclusion criteria and random-effects meta-analytical procedures, correcting for sampling bias, were employed where possible. Overall, results showed that the effect of physical activity guideline characteristics on behavioural adherence is not particularly robust as evidenced by a lack of unified findings and almost no evidence for the interaction among these factors (e.g. volume of activity and energy expenditure). Frequency (d = 0.08), intensity (d = 0.02), duration (d = 0.05) and mode of activity (ds = 0.03-0.10) showed generally null/trivial effects. Factors unrelated to the recommended guidelines may be of greater importance when considering behavioural adherence issues. Social cognitive, personality, and environmental or socioeconomic factors have amassed considerable evidence as correlates or determinants of physical activity, and health promoters may wish to consider these variables before basic physical activity characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite growing evidence for an inverse relationship of motherhood and physical activity, studies of the possible correlates for behavior change are scant. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change in leisure-time physical activity behaviors of 139 urban women during the transition to motherhood in retrospective analysis and evaluate their physical activity changes using the theory of planned behavior during motherhood. Perceptions of control based on time, fatigue, social support, and childcare were the critical correlates that distinguished between those who continued with physical activity and those who declined. These results provide evidence for targeted PA interventions during the transition to motherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most of the population have positive intentions to engage in physical activity (PA) but fail to act; thus, the need to understand successful translation of intention into behavior is warranted in order to focus intervention efforts.Purpose: The objective of the study is to examine constructs of the transtheoretical model, theory of planned behavior, and protection motivation theory as predictors of physical activity intention-behavior profiles across 6 months in a Canadian workplace sample.Methods: Employees from three large organizations in the province of Alberta (n = 887) completed a baseline survey relating to their demographic and medical background, PA, and social-cognitive constructs. A total of 611 participants completed a second assessment 6 months later.Results: Participants were grouped by five profiles: nonintenders, unsuccessful adopters, successful adopters, unsuccessful maintainers, and successful maintainers. Perceived importance and concern for PA (cognitive processes, instrumental attitude, perceived severity) distinguished nonintenders from the other four profiles, self-management and self-regulation of the behavior (behavioral processes, self-efficacy) distinguished successful adopters from unsuccessful adopters, while control over constraints (cons, perceived control, self-efficacy) were the key discriminators of successful maintainers from unsuccessful maintainers.Conclusion: The results provide useful information for intervention campaigns and demonstrate a need to consider adoption and maintenance profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting maintenance of regular physical activity (PA) is a public health priority; however, to the authors' knowledge, no researchers to date have examined whether the expectancies of proximal PA enactment are similar to the expectancies of longer maintenance. Thus, the authors' purpose in this study was to evaluate whether PA expectancies, measured with constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), varied as a function of time frame (no time frame, next week, next month, next 6 months). Undergraduate students (N = 409) completed randomly distributed self-report measures of the TPB; the authors then compared results across the 4 groups (formed on the basis of time frame). Analysis of variance tests showed that 13 of 37 constructs were significantly (p <.05) different, and post hoc follow-up tests identified that the proximal time frame (ie, next week) had the significantly lowest mean value. Chi-square tests of independent correlations, however, revealed few differences in TPB-intention correlations by time frame. The results suggest that social cognitive correlates of PA intention are robust to timeframe deviations but that time frame may affect the absolute values of some constructs. Overall, this is a positive finding because it suggests that PA promotion efforts focused on increasing expectancies do not have to be tailored to proximal or more distal maintenance applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposE: Previous research suggests that there is limited evidence to support a negative association between physical activity (PA) behaviors and television (TV) viewing time in children. The purpose of this study was to extend the research involving PA-TV viewing relationships and to explore potential moderators, including gender, ethnicity, weekday/ weekend behaviors, structured/unstructured activities, and seasonal variability. DESIGN: A 9-month longitudinal design, across one school year, with assessments every 3 months. SettinG: Elementary schools in the Vancouver and Richmond districts of British Columbia, Canada. Subjects. Subjects (N = 344; 47% female) were 9- to 11-year-old children who participated in a school-based PA initiative from September 2003 to June 2004. INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MEASURES: Assessments of PA were measured using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children. TV viewing time and structured PA were measured using a self-report questionnaire. ANALYSIS: Basic descriptives, Pearson r bivariate correlations and moderated multiple regressions with mean centered variables. RESULTS: No significant interaction effects were found for any of the proposed moderators. Null bivariate correlations are supportive of findings in previous literature. CONCLUSIONS: Our results did not find support for PA-TV viewing relations, regardless of gender, ethnicity, structured PA, and seasonal variability. PA interventions aimed at modifying sedentary behaviors, such as TV viewing, may not be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on why older adults change their driving behavior has typically neglected the psychological processes involved in this change. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine relations among difficulties with driving behaviors, motives toward driving, and intent to change driving behavior. A random sample of 224 drivers aged 60 and older reported on their driving-related motives and intentions within the framework of the theory of planned behavior and reported on their driving difficulties. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationship between motives toward driving and intention to change driving behavior. The model had a borderline acceptable fit. Instrumental attitude and subjective norm were predictive of 30% of the variance in intentions to change driving. Perceived social pressures and perceived benefits of driving appear to influence older drivers' intentions to change driving behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited measurement variability may reduce the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict desirable health behaviors. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of five different measurement scales on the variability and predictive validity of the TPB in the exercise domain. A secondary purpose was to test the utility of the 'two-component' TPB model (i.e., affective and instrumental attitudes, injunctive and descriptive norms, and perceived control and self-efficacy). We randomly assigned 422 undergraduate students to complete one of the five measurement scales. Results showed that the four experimental scales significantly increased the variability in most TPB measures but did not improve the model's predictive validity. Moreover, support was found for the 'two-component' model for attitude and subjective norm but not for perceived behavioral control. It was concluded that the standard 7-point scale is still the optimal measurement scale for the TPB and that the 'two-component' model is superior to the traditional model in the exercise domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a popular framework for under-standing the informational and motivational influences of exercise behavior. One tenet of this model that has not been examined is the belief that direct measures of TPB component constructs are organized through higher order constructs. The authors' purpose of this article was to test this higher order conceptualization in comparison with a multidimensional TPB model using structural equation modeling. Participants (N = 268) completed direct measures of the TPB and a 2-week follow-up of exercise behavior. The results generally supported multidimensional TPB constructs over higher order structures. Direct measures of attitude (ie, affective and instrumental) and subjective norm (ie, injunctive and descriptive) had better psychometric properties when considered multidimensionally. Perceived behavioral control (ie, self-efficacy, controllability), however, had estimation problems for both the multidimensional and the higher order model. Aggregation of TPB' components is not warranted, and the perceived behavioral control components may possess a structure more complex than simple multidimensionality or a super-ordinate higher order construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many older adults self-regulate driving behavior, but little is known about the process underlying this behavior change. We adapted a decisional balance instrument assessing the cognitive and motivational aspects of decision-making for use in the context of driving restriction by older adults. In this exploratory study of forty drivers aged 57 to 90, it was shown that the four subscales assessing positive and negative aspects of driving in relation to self and others yielded generally adequate internal consistency reliabilities and that influences, both internal to the individual (e.g., awareness of declining abilities) and external (e.g., environmental demands), affected driving decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intention measures often assess behavioral expectation more than behavioral intention. Warshaw and Davis (1985) theorize that expectation takes anticipated fluctuations in the commitment to the intention and perceived behavioral control (PBC) interactions into consideration over intention. Some researches have provided indirect evidence for this theorizing, but no study had directly tested this proposition. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to examine potential moderators of intention and expectation relations in the exercise domain. The participants were 241 undergraduate students who completed measures of intention, expectation, commitment to their intentions, the theory of planned behavior (affective attitude, instrumental attitude, subjective norm, PBC) and a two-week follow-up of behavior. The results showed that commitment to the intention and PBC moderated the relationship between intention and expectation (p<0.01). Specifically, those individuals with low intention commitment and low PBC had lower exercise expectations than intentions (d > 0.19) and larger expectation--behavior correlations than intention--behavior correlations (q > 0.09). In contrast, those individuals with medium and high levels of intention commitment and PBC had expectations equal to their intentions and no difference between the expectation-behavior and intention-behavior correlations. Based on these results and the results of previous studies, we recommend that differences between intention and expectation items be taken into account in the future, particularly in those individuals with low intention commitment and PBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ajzen has distinguished between self-efficacy (i.e., confidence, ease-difficulty) and controllability (i.e., control, up to me) item clusters when measuring perceived behavioural control (PBC). Rather than a two-factor control construct, we have suggested that confidence and ease-difficulty items possess measurement complexity between intention and PBC and do not measure Ajzen's PBC construct as cleanly as do control items unless a phrase is included to hold motivation constant (e.g., if I was really motivated…). The purpose of this study was to include PBC items with and without phrases that hold motivation constant and test the effects of measurement redundancy on other TPB coefficients when predicting/explaining exercise intentions. Participants were 241 undergraduate students who completed measures of the TPB. Results supported our theorizing for a single control construct by showing that confidence and ease-difficulty items without motivation held constant displayed factor complexity between PBC and intention, but loaded exclusively on PBC when motivation was held constant. Conversely, control items loaded exclusively on PBC regardless of whether motivation was held constant. In the TPB model where the factor complex items were used to represent PBC, PBC had a very large (β = 0.73, p  < 0.01) effect on intention while affective attitude had a small effect (β = 0.12, p  < 0.05). In the TPB model where factor clean items were used to represent PBC, PBC had a much smaller effect (β = 0.38, p  < 0.01) on intention, affective attitude had a much larger effect (β = 0.42, p  < 0.01), and the effect of subjective norm became significant (β = 0.15, p  < 0.05). We discussed the results in terms of how PBC measurement with Ajzen's denoted self-efficacy items may bias basic and applied TPB research unless motivation is held constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine postprogram exercise motivation and adherence in cancer survivors who participated in the Group Psychotherapy and Home-Based Physical Exercise (GROUP-HOPE; Courneya, Friedenreich, Sela, Quinney, & Rhodes, 2002) trial. At the completion of the GROUP-HOPE trial, 46 of 51 (90%) participants in the exercise group completed measures of attribution theory constructs. A 5-week follow-up self-report of exercise was then completed by 30 (65%) participants. Correlational analyses indicated that program exercise, perceived success, expected success, and affective reactions were strong predictors of postprogram exercise. In multivariate stepwise regression analyses, program exercise and perceived success were the strongest predictors of postprogram exercise. Additionally, perceived success was more important than objective success in understanding the attribution process, and it interacted with personal control to influence expected success and negative affect. Finally, postprogram quality of life and changes in physical fitness were correlates of perceived success. We concluded that attribution theory may have utility for understanding postprogram exercise motivation and adherence in cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To examine the moderating influence of ethnicity on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the exercise domain and to generate common and ethnic-specific underlying accessible beliefs. METHODS: 90 Caucasian and 94 African American undergraduate students completed a TPB questionnaire. RESULTS: Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that ethnicity and gender interacted by moderating the relationships between exercise intention and effective (beta = -0.44) and instrumental (betaeta = 0.39) attitudes. Furthermore, common and ethnic-specific underlying accessible beliefs were identified. CONCLUSION: When exercise interventions are developed, ethnicity and gender may need to be considered when dealing with affective and instrumental attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of 5 different numerical response scales--continuous-open, dichotomous-yes/no, and continuous-closed numerical (CCN) with 3 different ranges of response frequencies (low, medium, high)--on the proportion of respondents defined as regular exercisers. METHODS: We randomly assigned 500 undergraduate students to complete 1 of the 5 numerical response scales. RESULTS: The percentage of participants defined as regular exercisers ranged from 14% in the CCN low-frequency group to 45% in the CCN high-frequency group [chi2 (4, 500) = 28.90; P<.001]. CONCLUSIONS: The different numerical response scales have a significant impact on the estimated percentage of regular exercisers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrated two modelling techniques and three interpretations for the inclusion of past behaviour in a theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework using structural equation modelling. Model 1 examined past behaviour as either a causal influence or as an autoregressive influence on current behaviour. Model 2 demonstrated a novel approach to including past behaviour and current behaviour while preserving the tenets of the TPB, as it freed the residual correlation between past and present behaviour but not the causal path. Participants were 305 undergraduate students (mean age = 19.42 years) who completed measures of the TPB, past exercise behaviour and current exercise behaviour at one-month follow-up. Results demonstrated the importance of a priori conceptualization of past behaviour, as the models provide differences between estimated coefficients. Subsequent interpretation and decision to use each modelling strategy depends on the research objective and theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research has identified two distinct item clusters used to measure perceived behavioral control (PBC) labeled self-efficacy and controllability. Self-efficacy has been reported as the superior predictor of intention in all research efforts with these PBC factors. However, we argue that the conception of these item clusters originates from backward theorizing and hypothesize that controllability items are better indicators of the originally conceived PBC construct, while self-efficacy taps the measurement domains of both PBC and intention. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate factor distinction with PBC and intention items across disparate samples of 302 undergraduate students and 267 cancer survivors in the exercise domain. Results found the only model with acceptable fit across populations was that of controllability and intention chi2(8) = 6.91, p = 0.55; RMSEA = 0.00; CFI = 1.00 for undergraduates and chi2(8) = 26.51, p<0.01; RMSEA = 0.09; CFI = 0.97 for cancer survivors) supporting our hypothesis that the controllability concept, but not the self-efficacy factor, has a clean measurement distinction from intention. Further, self-efficacy items showed factor complexity between PBC and intention across both samples, suggesting that self-efficacy may have been reported as superior to controllability in predicting intention due to measurement redundancy rather than meaningful causal influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationship between a general personality framework (the five-factor model) and subjective well-being in patients with colorectal cancer. Participants were 56 postsurgical patients with colorectal cancer who completed a mailed, selfadministered questionnaire that assessed demographic characteristics, personality, and subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and affect balance). Pearson correlations indicated that neuroticism had the highest correlation with life satisfaction (r = -.61), affect balance (r = - .61), and negative affect (r = .48), whereas extroversion had the highest correlation with positive affect (r = .57). Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that personality explained an additional 20% to 29% of the variance in subjective well-being after important demographic and medical variables were controlled for. The authors concluded that personality, particularly neuroticism, is strongly related to subjective well-being in patients with colorectal cancer and that clinicians should be aware of its implications for patients' functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]