Effects of Stage of Change on Physical Activity Intention as a Function of Motivation Among Young Adults in University
Open AccessTwo frameworks commonly used to understand physical activity (PA) are the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). TTM describes that individuals in the later stages of change report greater PA compared to those in the earlier stages. According to SDT, there are two qualitatively different forms of motivation: autonomous and controlled. Although the published literature to date suggests it, there have been no formal tests of the proposition that autonomous motivation mediates the relationship between state of change and PA. Additionally, the relationship between controlled motivation and stages of change is understudied. However, before these relationships can be tested, that stage of change and motivation predict PA intentions needs to be demonstrated, because intentions are an immediate precursor of behavior. Hence, the current study tested the hypothesis that autonomous motivation mediates the relationship between stage of change and PA intention as well as the following research questions: (a) Does level of controlled motivation differ across the stage of change? (b) What is the direction and of the relationship between between controlled motivation and PA intentions? (c) Does controlled motivation mediate the relationship between stage of change and PA intentions? The current study also examined whether the hypothesis and research questions would hold after controlling for self-efficacy, commitment and past PA behavior, two established predictors of intentions. Ancillary analyses were also conducted to replicate findings with a different stage of change measure and further explore the relationships between stage of change, controlled motivation and PA intentions. Undergraduates (N = 460) were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants completed an online questionnaire. Path analyses and ANOCVA were used to test study hypotheses and research questions. Results indicated that across analyses, autonomous motivation consistently mediated the relationships between stage of change and 1) PA intentions (controlling for self-efficacy), 2) commitment and 3) past PA behavior. These relationships held across analyses using different stage of change measures. In contrast, across analyses, no consistent or reliable associations were found between stage of change and controlled motivation or between controlled motivation and PA intentions. One practical implication of the current findings is that physicians in a clinical setting working with patients who have a goal of increasing their PA, can utilize the visual analogue stage of change scale as a rapid tool to capture the patient’s stage of change, motivation and PA intentions and develop tailored communications for their patients.
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