Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Poster Area 2 (Foyer Outside Exhibit Hall C) (Convention Center)
Background/Purpose: Physical inactivity is a major behavior problem that contributes to heart disease, some cancers, depression, and other chronic diseases. Research has been conducted to apply theory, specifically the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), to interventions to improve physical activity (PA) among adults. Application the TTM to enhance physical activity among adolescents is less understood. Method: Data sources were obtained from a search of multiple databases including PubMed, Science Direct, Academic Search Premier, and Google Scholar. Study inclusion criteria were publication in the past ten years and utilization of the Transtheoretical Model to increase physical activity among adolescents. Studies that examined the TTM and either all or portions of its theoretical constructs in PA interventions of adolescent populations, which used experimental designs and were quantitative in nature, were included. Analysis/Results: Eight published articles were collected and examined. These articles all made use of either all of portions of the TTM, including the five stages of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy, and the ten processes of change as the basis for intervention. Research indicates that the use of the TTM as a moderator of behavior PA change in adolescent populations is most often supported, with particular support for the use of the specific construct of self-efficacy as a likely mediator. Conclusions: The review of the current literature provides positive, although inconclusive, support for its application. Additionally, further PA intervention studies using the TTM for this population, both longitudinal in nature and of greater sample size, are necessary to further investigate its effectiveness.