Predictors of physical activity, healthy eating and being smoke-free in teens: a theory of planned behaviour approach.
This paper elicited context specific underlying beliefs for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and smoke-free behaviour from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and then determined whether the TPB explained significant variation in intentions and behaviour over a 1 month period in a sample of grade 7-9 (age 12-16 years) adolescents. Eighteen individual interviews and one focus group were used to elicit student beliefs. Analyses of this data produced behavioural, normative and control beliefs which were put into a TPB questionnaire completed by 183 students at time 1 and time 2. The Path analyses from the main study showed that the attitude/intention relationship was moderately large for fruit and vegetable consumption and small to moderate for being smoke free. Perceived behavioural control had a large effect on being smoke free and a moderately large effect for fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity. Intention had a large direct effect on all three behaviours. Common (e.g. feel better, more energy) and behaviour-specific (e.g., prevent yellow fingers, control my weight) beliefs emerged across the three health behaviours. These novel findings, to the adolescent population, support the importance of specific attention being given to each of the behaviours in future multi-behavioural interventions.
Murnaghan
Donna A
DA
PEI Health Research Institute and School of Nursing, University Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A4P3 Canada. dmurnaghan@upei.ca
Blanchard
Chris M
CM
Rodgers
Wendy M
WM
LaRosa
Jennifer N
JN
MacQuarrie
Colleen R
CR
MacLellan
Debbie L
DL
Gray
Bob J
BJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires