2010 EABR & ETLC Conference Proceedings

Dublin, Ireland

Physical Education in College: Predicting Physical Activity and Influencing College Students to Be Physically Active
Jean Lemoyne, Collge Shawinigan, Canada Abstract Background: The undesirable consequences of physical inactivity are a health concern at the international level. The rise of prevalence of sedentarity is observed mostly from the adolescence to young adulthood, where about one third of young adults are engaged in sufficient physical activity. To motivate young people to be active, physical education could play an important role in promoting the adoption or maintenance of an active lifestyle. However, little is known about the efficiency or impact of physical education interventions at the college level. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is a theoretical framework frequently used in the health education domain. TPB constructs are of great utility to predict health behaviours, and consequently develop health educations interventions. Some authors suggest that past behaviour and the physical self-concept could contribute to the refinement of the TPB. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to predict physical activity among Quebecs college students. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is the theoretical framework of the study. We want to identify the factors mostly associated with the practice of physical activity among college students. Finally, we want to verify the contribution of additional variables such as the past behaviour and the physical self-concepts as predictors of physical activity/exercise behaviour. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 386 college students enrolled in mandatory physical education classes (girls=258, b=128, 17 yrs. old) and TPB were measured. A follow-up questionnaire was completed by the same group. Structural equation modelling was used for statistical analysis. Results: The results revealed that the fit indices were acceptable for the model tested (CFI > 0.95, RMSEA = 0.042). Overall attitudes, perceived barriers, physical self-concept and past behaviour were significantly related to the intentions of being active (R = 0.34). Further, the model explained the relationships between intentions, physical self-concept and the past behaviour and the practice of physical activity (R = 0.34). PSC and past behaviour were the best predictors of physical activity. Conclusions: These findings contributed to the refinement of the TPB and suggest further developments regarding the role of the physical self-concept in the physical/health education field. Practical recommendations for physical educators emerge from the results of this study.

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