The Role of Social Support, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation in the Exercise Behavior of Women

The Role of Social Support, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation in the Exercise Behavior of Women

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to explore factors related to exercise behavior (i.e., concrete physical social support, general social support, exercise social support, exercise self-efficacy and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation) to determine how these factors vary in relation to women’s exercise behavior. Further, the study examined how exercise social support, exercise self-efficacy and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation relate to the stability of exercise behavior over time. Methods: A community sample of 357 adult female participants, completed a baseline online survey. Participants were recruited online, by email, or by posters and were asked to participate in a study investigating women’s daily activities. After three months, a total of 243 participants completed a follow-up online survey (68% response rate). Results: At baseline, the study identified significant differences for all of the factors by stage of change except for concrete physical social support. Women reported differing levels of reliable alliance (p<.001), exercise social support (p<.001), exercise self-efficacy (p<.001), and extrinsic (p<.001) and intrinsic (p<.001) motivation by stage. When the factors were examined over a three month time frame, there were differences in reported exercise social support (p<.001), exercise self-efficacy(p<.001), and intrinsic(p<.001)/extrinsic (p<.001) motivation based on the stability of exercise behavior. Conclusions: Overall, the findings from the current study suggest that there are a number of factors that could encourage the initiation and maintenance of exercise behavior, including social support, motivation and self-efficacy. An interesting finding in the current study was that having an actual partner for exercise did not have a significant influence on women’s exercise behavior.