Research Information System
55. ICHPER SD Dünya Kongresi, İstanbul, Turkey, 19 December - 21 November 2013, pp.496, (Full Text)
Physical activity participation level decreases with age among adolescents and had major decline during the high school years. So far, however, there has been little research about students’ self-efficacy and their intention about physical activity. Therefore, purposes of the study were two folded; (a) analyze high school students (n=1278) physical activity self-efficacy (PASE) and exercise stages of change (ESC) levels, (b) examine high school students’ PASE and ESC levels with respect to gender, age and school type. For the data collection “Physical Activity Stages of Change” and “Physical Activity Self-Efficacy” questionnaires were used. Descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, percentage), nonparametric statistical methods Pearson chi-square and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) tests were used for the data analysis. According to the results on self-efficacy and exercise stages of change, male students had higher levels of self-efficacy and were at upper stages as compared to the females. Type of school and sex of students were significantly related to ESC (p<0.05). In addition, ANOVA results indicated that sex of students was significantly related to self-efficacy. However, there was no significant difference on age and self-efficacy of students. (p>0.05). In conclusion, male students were more in higher stages and had higher self-efficacy in physical activity compared to females. Further studies should focus on developing exercise behavior of female students with increasing self-efficacy and exercise behavior intention through stage specific interventions.
Keywords: Physical activity, self-efficacy, exercise stages of change, high school students