Background/Purpose Relatively few school-based physical activity (PA) interventions have targeted middle school students and ones conducted on religious minorities are even rarer (Taymoori et al., 2008). Additionally, changes in psychological state concomitant with PA interventions are rarely reported. Thus we sought to determine levels/changes in several psychological correlates of PA among Muslim students who participated in an 8-week interdisciplinary pedometer program, during which virtual pilgrimage (Umra) was made.
Method Participants included 45, 6-8th grade students (27 girls; M BMI perc. = 67.95±26.34; Mage=12.3 ±0.95)representing various ethnicities. Psychological variables were collected at baseline and postintervention: enjoyment (PACES; Kendzierski & DeCarlo, 1991), motivation (SIMS; Guay et al., 2000), and perceived intervention effect (PIE), which was denoted by questionnaire items specific to intervention features.
Analysis/Results Based on the Reliable Change Index (Jacobson & Truax, 1991), ≈ 32% expressed greater enjoyment of PA postintervention while motivation was unaffected. Stepwise regression analyses showed that postintervention increase in PA was predicted by gender (b = -.48, R 2=.24) and PIE(b = .44, R2 = .19) on schooldays without PE, F4,41= 9.15, p< .001, R2=.43; and by gender (b = -.46, R2 = .21) and external regulation (b=-.29, R2 = .08) on schooldays with PE, F2,39 = 7.99, p<.001,R2=.29.
Conclusions Faith-based PA interventions at school may increase certain psychological states associated with PA and may need to be modified to positively affect girls. Gender has a stronger impact on PA changes than psychological mediators, which in turn exert disparate influences contingent on days when PE is/is not offered.
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