Aim.

The aim of this study was to investigate exercise behaviors among community-dwelling women in Taiwan and to test the relationships among study variables on exercise behavior.

Background.

Aging of the population is an irreversible trend in Taiwan. As Taiwan's population ages, a substantial increase of chronic disease in seniors can be expected in the future. Regular exercise is important to maintain and to promote people's health such as improving functional performance in older adults, preventing osteoporosis, coronary artery disease, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, maintaining quality of life, and decreasing women's menopausal symptoms. Reasons for engaging in exercise behavior are complex and influenced by many factors. Self-efficacy and social capital have been indicated to influence exercise behavior.

Methods.

This was a correlational cross-sectional design. The convenience sample consisted of 123 Taiwanese women. SPSS 12 was used for data analysis. The demographic characteristics and study variables were examined the frequencies, means, standard deviations, actual ranges and possible ranges. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation.

Results.

The mean age was 45.65 (SD = 13.91, range = 20–81). Over sixty percent of the participants (60.9 %) exercised regularly (more than three times a week). Social capital had a statistically significant relationship with self-efficacy (p<0.01)and exercise behavior (p<0.01), and self-efficacy had significant relationship with exercise behavior (p<0.01).

Conclusions.

The significant relationships among study variables extend previous studies. The study result provides a reference for future nursing practice, research, and education programs related to increase exercise behavior among Taiwanese women.

Keywords: exercise, self-efficacy, social capital, Pearson's correlation.