Objective: This study examined relationships among constructs of perceived benefits and barriers to physical activity, self-efficacy, and health-promoting behaviors in Army reservists.
Design: In this correlational, ex-post-facto study, relationships among latent variables and model generation were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).
Population, Sample, Setting, and Years: Data were collected from 723 U.S. Army reservists during a period from 1998 to 2001.
Concept or Variables Studied Together: Study variables included perceived benefits of exercise (life enhancement, physical performance, psychological outlook, preventive health, social interaction), perceived barriers to exercise (exercise milieu, time expenditure, physical exertion, family encouragement), self-efficacy (resisting relapse and making time for exercise), and exercise adherence (a composite score of metabolic energy expenditure, three anthropometric measures, Body Mass Index, Waist-Hip Ratio, and Conicity Index, and Army Physical Fitness Test Scores).
Methods: SEM assisted with development of a measurement model for each gender. Common variance associated with each study variable was examined and the goodness of fit evaluated using chi-square and adjunct comparative fit indices. The measurement model was then modified to specify causal relationships among variables. A multigroup model then facilitated comparison between the genders and standardized path coefficients.
Findings: Causal relationships among theoretical variables and the strength of those relationships were validated with the finding that self-efficacy mediates between psychosocial cognitions and environmental variables and assists adherence to an exercise regime.
Conclusions: Barriers to exercise directly affect exercise self-efficacy in female Army reservists, whereas benefits of exercise directly affect self-efficacy in males. A greater sense of self-efficacy influenced exercise adherence in both genders.
Implications: Today’s military missions require physically prepared soldiers. For both genders, self-efficacy is implicated as an important mediator of adherence to regular physical exercise; therefore training should incorporate strategies that foster social and environmental support for a climate of success.
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Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003