TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of Physical Activity in Urban African American Adults and Older Adults
T2 - Testing the Social Cognitive Theory
AU - Gothe, Neha Pravin
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments Thank you to Dr. Peter Lichtenberg and Dr. James Jackson for their mentorship as part of the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research. Thank you to all research participants who volunteered for this study and the research staff who contributed to the data collection process. This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, P30 AG015281, and Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research.
PY - 2018/8/16
Y1 - 2018/8/16
N2 - Background: Older adults, especially ethnic minorities continue to be the least active segment of the U.S. population. Health disparities are evident in that African Americans participate in less physical activity (PA) and are less likely to meet PA guidelines compared with non-Hispanic Caucasians.Purpose: Using the social cognitive theory (SCT), this study examined the individual, social, and physical environmental correlates of PA behavior.Methods: Participants (N = 110, females = 96, mean age = 64.8 ± 5.7 years) were urban, community-dwelling African American adults and older adults who completed demographics and psychosocial questionnaires assessing (SCT) constructs of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, social support, and perceptions of the physical environment. A latent factor PA construct represented self-report (Godin Leisure-time Exercise Questionnaire, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly) and objective (accelerometer worn for 7 days) PA.Results: The direct and indirect effects of SCT constructs on PA were tested using structural equation modeling, and the overall model fit was adequate (comparative fit index = 0.94, root mean square error of approximation = 0.04, standardized root mean square residual = 0.05, chi square = 67.03, p = .17). Results indicated that: (a) self-efficacy was the strongest direct predictor of PA (β = 0.79) and also influenced outcome expectations (β = 0.457, p < .001); and (b) outcome expectations directly (β = 0.36) predicted PA. Among demographic moderators, only age was inversely associated with outcome expectations (β = -0.28). Social support or physical environment did not influence PA.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that self-efficacy and outcome expectations are important correlates of PA for African American adults and older adults. Future studies should examine the direct and indirect impact of PA interventions targeting self-efficacy and outcomes expectations to promote behavior change.
AB - Background: Older adults, especially ethnic minorities continue to be the least active segment of the U.S. population. Health disparities are evident in that African Americans participate in less physical activity (PA) and are less likely to meet PA guidelines compared with non-Hispanic Caucasians.Purpose: Using the social cognitive theory (SCT), this study examined the individual, social, and physical environmental correlates of PA behavior.Methods: Participants (N = 110, females = 96, mean age = 64.8 ± 5.7 years) were urban, community-dwelling African American adults and older adults who completed demographics and psychosocial questionnaires assessing (SCT) constructs of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, social support, and perceptions of the physical environment. A latent factor PA construct represented self-report (Godin Leisure-time Exercise Questionnaire, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly) and objective (accelerometer worn for 7 days) PA.Results: The direct and indirect effects of SCT constructs on PA were tested using structural equation modeling, and the overall model fit was adequate (comparative fit index = 0.94, root mean square error of approximation = 0.04, standardized root mean square residual = 0.05, chi square = 67.03, p = .17). Results indicated that: (a) self-efficacy was the strongest direct predictor of PA (β = 0.79) and also influenced outcome expectations (β = 0.457, p < .001); and (b) outcome expectations directly (β = 0.36) predicted PA. Among demographic moderators, only age was inversely associated with outcome expectations (β = -0.28). Social support or physical environment did not influence PA.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that self-efficacy and outcome expectations are important correlates of PA for African American adults and older adults. Future studies should examine the direct and indirect impact of PA interventions targeting self-efficacy and outcomes expectations to promote behavior change.
KW - Aging
KW - Minority populations
KW - Self-efficacy
KW - Social cognitive theory
KW - Structural equation modeling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055043747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85055043747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/abm/kax038
DO - 10.1093/abm/kax038
M3 - Article
C2 - 30124762
SN - 0883-6612
VL - 52
SP - 743
EP - 751
JO - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 9
ER -