Predictors of Women’s Exercise Behavior Based on Developed Theory of Planned Behavior with Action and Coping Planning

Aim: Level of physical activity as key determinant of healthy lifestyle is less than what is required in individuals particularly women. Applying theories of behavioral change about complex behaviors such as physical activity leads to identify effective factors and their relations. The aim of this study was to determine predictors of exercise behavior based on developed Theory of Planned Behavior with planning constructs in military personnel’s wives. Methods: We performed this cross-sectional study on 150 military personnel’s spouses residing in organizational houses, in Tehran, Iran in 2013. The participants were randomly selected with multi-stage cluster sampling. The validity and reliability of developed scale were evaluated before conducting the path analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS.16 and LISREL8.8. Finding: The developed model predicted 48, 11, 12 and 35 percent of the variance in intention, action planning, coping planning and behavior, respectively. Subjective norms (Beta=0.35, p < 0.01) and perceived behavioral control (Beta=0.28, p < 0.01) were the predictors of intention. Determinants of behavior included action planning (Beta=0.40, p < 0.01), coping planning (Beta=0.39, p < 0.01), intention (Beta=0.23, p < 0.01) and subjective norms (Beta=0.08, p < 0.01). Instrumental and affective attitude had no significant path coefficient to dependent variables. The path of perceived behavioral control to behavior was non-significant. The developed theory fitted to data better than the original theory. Conclusion: This research demonstrated relative weights and relationships of Theory of Planned Behavior constructs with action and coping planning in physical activity behavior of military staffsʹ spouses. It is essential to consider these effective factors in designing of health education programs.