Food & Health Alliance

Trost, S. G.; Pate, R. R.; Dowda, M.; Ward, D. W.; Felton, G. & Saunders, R.  Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland; the Department of Exercise Science and the Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of South Carolina and the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  (2002).

This study investigated the efficacy of the TRA and TPB in explaining intentions and physical activity participation for African-American and white adolescents in 31 middle schools in America.

Aim:  To investigate the interaction between a number of factors in predicting adolescents intention and participation in physical activity in the context of the TRA and the TPB.

Method:  1030 white and 1114 African-American adolescents (mean age = 13.6) completed a 3-day Physical Activity Recall form that assisted participants in recalling their participation in physical activity over the past three days.  They also completed a questionnaire that focused on attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, self-efficacy and intentions related to regular physical activity. 

Results:  The results suggest that the TPB is more successful at predicting behaviour than TRA for adolescent females.  Considerable ethnic differences were observed, with the TPB having little predictive quality for African-American females.  The analysis suggests that for participation in physical activity perceptions of control are not the same as perceptions of self-efficacy.  Participation in physical activity was strongly related to self-efficacy perceptions in both ethnic groups.  Both models fall short of explaining a significant amount of variance in behaviour, therefore determinants outside of the two models may be important in predicting behaviour. 

Suggestions:  Future studies should investigate the role of social support in the context of the two models, in order to establish if the link between intentions and physical activity is mediated by this factor.  Interventions should focus on raising adolescent female’s self-efficacy in order to increase physical activity.  Also interventions should educate participants about the benefits of physical activity (in order to develop positive behavioural beliefs) and increase the availability of physical activity experiences.

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