TESTING THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR IN A SAMPLE OF MALL WALKERS (EXERCISE).
Contributors: University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 201
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Behavioral.
Description: The purpose of the study was to test the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen & Madden, 1986) in a sample of mall walkers to investigate the ability of theoretical constructs, and other selected variables to predict intentions to walk as one type of exercise behavior.

An exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional, and nonexperimental design was used to survey 438 registered mall walkers (296 females, 135 males) in 4 states (Kentucky, Virginia, New Mexico, and Wisconsin). A two-phase instrument development process based on guidelines from the Theory of Planned Behavior, was used to construct a 61-item survey to assess the theoretical constructs (attitude toward walking, subjective norms related to walking, and perceived behavioral control for walking) and other characteristics that were identified as particularly important to this study, and included age, gender, health status, and retirement status.

In a forward selection regression equation, the variables of health status, gender, attitude, and age emerged as significant and predicted 13% of the variance of intention to walk which was indirectly measured through present walking behavior. One MANOVA conducted to assess the effects of intention to walk (operationalized as walking frequency) and other selected variables on the three theoretical constructs revealed no significant findings. Another MANOVA conducted to assess the effects of intention to walk (operationalized as walking intensity), age, gender, retirement status, and health status on the three theoretical constructs revealed significant multivariate and univariate F-tests for the three theoretical constructs, especially the construct of subjective norms. However, interpretation of the significance is complex, and the spurious significant findings for the indepedent variables suggest trends that require further research.

Conclusions indicated that various levels of intention to walk in in-door shopping malls as a type of exercise was apparent in this sample of older adults. Overall, subjects were influenced by a positive perception of their health status, beliefs about the outcomes of walking (attitudes), and beliefs about what other people thought about their walking (subjective norms). The results suggest continued investigation about factors that influence intentions to perform health-promotion behaviors such as exercise.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-05, Section: B, page: 2564.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE, 1994.

School code: 0263.