Intention of Regular Exercise Among Pregnant Women: Theory of Planned Behavior

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the regular exercise behavioral intention on Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) among pregnancy women and evaluated the model goodness of fit.

Methods:  Using purposive sampling, the researchers invited pregnant women from the obstetrics outpatient clinics of three medical centers in northern Taiwan to participate. The 621 participants had an average age of 31.76, were in at least their 12^thweek of gestation and were not experiencing any problems with their pregnancy. The self- administered questionnaire asked about participants’ age, education, job, family, knowledge pertaining to exercise during pregnancy, and attitude toward regular exercise during their own pregnancy. The data was analyzed using SPSS 14.0 software and LISREL 8.72 software.

Results:

1. The model of intention to regularly exercise (AB) which we derived from our data was found to fit the Theory of Planned Intention  (TBI) (GFI=0.90, AGFI=0.88, RMSEA=0.062, SRMR=0.074, NFI=0.96, NNFI=0.97, CFI=0.98, PNFI=0.84,(χ²/df)=3.4).

2. Participants’ perceived behavioral control (PBC) significantly influenced AB and explained 57% of the variance in regular exercise intention among pregnant women. The major influencing factor was PBC (β=0.68, p<0.01).

3. AB had a significant influence on participants’ behavioral beliefs multiplied by evaluations of outcomes (γ=0.58, p<0.01). PBC had a significant influence on participants’ behavioral beliefs multiplied by their own perceived power (γ=0.35, p<0.01).

4. There was a significantly positive relationship between and among participants’ AB and PBC.

Conclusion: It was also concluded that doctors and nurses should encourage pregnant women to exercise regularly.