Self-efficacy and environmental correlates of physical activity among older women and women with multiple sclerosis

Physical inactivity is a major health problem in the United States, particularly in elderly and disabled populations. Little research exists examining the relationships between aspects of the built environment and physical activity in older adults and individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). We ado...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health education research 2008-08, Vol.23 (4), p.744-752
Main Authors: Morris, Katherine S., McAuley, Edward, Motl, Robert W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aging (Individuals)
Cross-Sectional Studies
Elderly women
Environment Design
Environmental aspects
Epistemology
Exercise
Female
Females
Functional impairment
Humans
Middle Aged
Multiple Sclerosis
Older Adults
Original
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Physical Activities
Physical activity
Physical Environment
Self Efficacy
Selfefficacy
United States
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Summary:Physical inactivity is a major health problem in the United States, particularly in elderly and disabled populations. Little research exists examining the relationships between aspects of the built environment and physical activity in older adults and individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). We adopted a social cognitive perspective to examine the independent roles of perceptions of the environmental, self-efficacy and functional limitations in understanding physical activity levels among elderly women and women with MS. Older women (n = 136) and women diagnosed with MS (n = 173) were recruited to participate in separate cross-sectional studies. Individuals completed a battery of questionnaires and wore an activity monitor for 7 days. All measures were issued and collected through the mail with the use of self-addressed, pre-paid envelopes. Initial correlational analyses indicated that self-efficacy, functional limitations and environmental perceptions were significantly related to physical activity. Among older women, self-efficacy, functional limitations and street connectivity demonstrated independent contributions to physical activity behavior. Only self-efficacy and functional limitations demonstrated significant associations among women with MS. The prospective contributions of the environment and individual factors to changes in physical activity need to be determined.
ISSN:0268-1153
1465-3648
DOI:10.1093/her/cym067