Title: The Role of Social Support, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation in the Exercise Behavior of Women
Abstract: Objectives The purpose of the study was to explore factors related to exercise behavior (i.e., concrete physical social support, general social support, exercise social support, exercise self-efficacy and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation) to determine how these factors vary in relation to womenâs exercise behavior. Further, the study examined how exercise social support, exercise self-efficacy and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation relate to the stability of exercise behavior over time. Methods A community sample of 357 adult female participants, completed a baseline online survey. Participants were recruited online, by email, or by posters and were asked to participate in a study investigating womenâs daily activities. After three months, a total of 243 participants completed a follow-up online survey (68% response rate). Results At baseline, the study identified significant differences for all of the factors by stage of change except for concrete physical social support. Women reported differing levels of reliable alliance (p<.001), exercise social support (p<.001), exercise self-efficacy (p<.001), and extrinsic (p<.001) and intrinsic (p<.001) motivation by stage. When the factors were examined over a three month time frame, there were differences in reported exercise social support (p<.001), exercise self-efficacy(p<.001), and intrinsic(p<.001)/extrinsic (p<.001) motivation based on the stability of exercise behavior. Conclusions Overall, the findings from the current study suggest that there are a number of factors that could encourage the initiation and maintenance of exercise behavior, including social support, motivation and self-efficacy. An interesting finding in the current study was that having an actual partner for exercise did not have a significant influence on womenâs exercise behavior. Keywords: exercise; stages of change; social support; women