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标题：Correlates of the Stages of Change for Physical Activity in a Population Survey
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作者：Carol Ewing Garber ; Jenifer E. Allsworth ; Bess H. Marcus 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2008
卷号：98
期号：5
页码：897-904
DOI：10.2105/AJPH.2007.123075
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Objectives. We sought to identify variables associated with being in a particular stage of change for physical activity—a measure of behavioral intention to engage in regular physical activity. Understanding behavioral intentions can be useful in explaining why individuals are physically inactive or active. Methods. Data from the Rhode Island 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to evaluate predictors of stage of change for physical activity. There were 3454 observations in the data set, representing a weighted population of 742636 people. Estimates were obtained from polytomous multiple logistic models. Results. Being a woman, Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and older than 55 years of age were associated with being in precontemplation and contemplation stages of change rather than maintenance. Self-perceived health status and rarely feeling healthy or full of energy were strongly predictive of stage of change. Having a health limitation was a dichotomous predictor, predicting being in action and precontemplation stages. Conclusions. Several sociodemographic and health variables were associated with varying patterns of stages of change for physical activity. The complexity of individual intentions for physical activity provides evidence for the potential existence of mediating, effect-modifying, and confounding variables that differ depending on individual characteristics. The Transtheoretical Model combines key social–cognitive models of health behavior change with the core construct, stages of change, reflecting behavioral intention. 1 ^, 2 The Transtheoretical Model purports that people progress through 5 stages as they change health behaviors. 1 First applied to physical activity behavior by Marcus et al., 3 ^– 6 the model has been validated against measures of physical activity behavior, physical fitness, and health, 7 ^– 16 and has been successfully applied in an array of populations and settings. 17 ^– 24 Despite public health efforts, the proportion of the population engaging in healthful levels of physical activity is low. 25 Between 1990 and 1998, the prevalence of adults engaging in optimal levels of physical activity in the United States increased from 24.3% to 25.4%. 26 At the same time, prevalence of walking remained stable, although select subgroups showed improvement. 27 These data intimate that there is a need for improved understanding of this complex behavior. 28 ^, 29 Epidemiological studies have described correlates of physical activity behavior and inactivity, 30 ^– 36 but few 37 ^, 38 have studied the intentions for physical activity. To gain a better understanding of physical activity, it is important to understand not only the behavior, but also the intentions for the behavior. 15 Studying the stages of change for physical activity should improve the understanding of physical activity behavior, because of its focus on intentions for behavior. There are few studies describing the stages of change for physical activity in large populations, and only limited data on factors associated with stages of change. 38 ^– 43 We sought to identify variables associated with the probability of being in a stage of change for physical activity in a population sample.