The role of exercise self-efficacy, perceived exertion, event-related stress, and demographic factors in predicting physical activity among college freshmen

Abstract

Objectives:The focus of this study was to examine the relationship among precursors to physical activity, including exercise self-efficacy, perceived exertion, stress, and demographic factors, among college students. Design: This study employed an associational design. Setting: The study population was college freshmen in southeast Louisiana who were between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Method: A path analysis was used to examine the strength and directional relationship among variables depicted in Pender's Health Promotion Model (HPM) and to determine the structure of the relationships among the variables in the conceptual map. Path coefficients were used to determine whether the independent variables (exercise self-efficacy, stress, perceived exertion, demographic factors) as depicted in the path diagram made a unique contribution to predicting physical activity (dependent variable) or if the relationships between stress, perceived exertion, and physical activity, are mediated by exercise self-efficacy. Results: Study results portrayed a relationship between perceived exertion and exercise self-efficacy and a relationship between a person's belief in their ability to stick to an exercise programme (self-efficacy) and their level of activity. Compared to their counterparts, this study's population had lower levels of usual physical activity, but heightened levels of physical activity immediately following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Conclusion: This study adds to the body of knowledge related to predictors of physical activity and the applicability of Pender's HPM to such studies. The study also provides insight into the impact of a natural disaster on physical activity.

Psychosocial predictors of physical activity and health-related quality of life among Shanghai working adults

“…Exercise self-efficacy acts as a mediator for the relationships between stress and physical activity, and the relationship between social support and physical activity. Consistent with previous studies [13, 14, 36], these findings suggest that the relationship between psychosocial predictors and QOL is not a simple bivariate association, but is often indirectly related and can be better expressed as following a pathway through mediating factors (e.g., physical activity, self-efficacy). These series of relationships can be best understood from a self-efficacy framework [31].…”

“…Lack of social support and low self-efficacy are two important barriers to regular physical activity and QOL [4]. Based on a path analysis, Brannagan [13] examined the strength and directional relationship among exercise self-efficacy, stress and physical activity. They found that the relationships between stress, perceived exertion and physical activity are mediated by exercise self-efficacy.…”

The Effects of Stress on Physical Activity and Exercise

“…Speaking to the point of positive influences of stress, 29 studies found that stress predicts an increase in PA behavior [3, 17, 81, 164, 168, 171, 172, 175, 183, 251, 253, 254, 256, 259, 262, 264, 267, 269, 278-280, 313-320], ten of which were prospective (see above). Other studies found trends in this direction [169, 191].…”

“…This is contradicted by evidence that exercise behavior substantially declined for New Yorkers after the trauma of the 9/11 attacks [181]. In contrast, the experience of Hurricane Katrina in the USA has been associated with heightened levels of PA [313]. …”

Bewegungsorientierte Gesundheitsförderung an Hochschulen

“…eine derartige Ausbildung machen, bedeutsame Handlungsfelder. Denn Studierende werden im Allgemeinen als zukünftige Leader angesehen, die das Leben anderer direkt oder indirekt beeinflussen und damit potentiell auch deren Umgang mit körperlicher Aktivität (Brannagen 2010). Im Falle von in Gesundheitsberufen Tätigen versteht sich eigenes gesundheitsförderliches Verhalten und damit eigene körperliche Aktivität einerseits als Selbstpflege (Kratvis et al 2010), andererseits als Grundlage, um Gesundheitsförderung im zukünftigen beruflichen Handeln und damit für Klientinnen und Klienten sowie Patientinnen und Patienten zu forcieren.…”