Background/Purpose . Compared with self-efficacy for exercise (SEE), outcome expectations for exercise (OEE) predict physical activity (PA) less consistently in the literature. The inconsistency may be attributed to the single-dimensional approach in assessing OEE and the characteristics of certain sub-groups including age and gender. Thus, this study examined the effects of physical, social, and self-evaluative OEE on PA between older women and men.
Method . Participants were 267 Chinese adults aged 60 or older (Mean=76.06, SD=6.96, 78% women), recruited from community centers. Adults with substantial cognitive and physical impairments were excluded from this study. Participants were asked to respond to questions on OEE, SEE, and PA participation in face-to-face interviews.
Analysis/Results . The mean levels of physical, social, and self-evaluative OEE were not different by gender. Controlling for demographic factors, and levels of cognitive and physical impairments, regression analysis showed that the effects of physical and social OEE on PA were moderated by gender (β=-.35, p<.01 and β=-.30, p<.05, respectively). Simple slope analysis revealed that physical and social OEE were significant predictors of PA only for men (β=.19, p<.01 and β=.15, p<.05, respectively). No effect was found for self-evaluative OEE.
Conclusions . Results provided evidence for the usefulness of a multidimensional approach to OEE in the Chinese older population. Compared with older women, older men may be more outcome-oriented, and thus more likely to realize their physical and social OEE by actions. For older women, factors such as social support and facility access may be more predictive of PA participation.