The Relationships among Constructs in the Health Belief Model and the Transtheoretical Model among African-American College Women for Physical Activity

Purpose. Health Belief Model (HBM) and Transtheoretical Model concepts were used to investigate possible differences in perceptions of physical activity among African-American college women categorized by their stage of physical activity behavior. Methods. A survey was administered to 233 participants to assess their stage of physical activity behavior and HBM perceptions. Analysis of variance was used to investigate possible differences among HBM constructs for each behavior stage. Results. Perceived barriers were significantly higher (p < .05), and perceived severity, cues to action, and self-efficacy were significantly lower in the inactive group than in the active group. For example, perceived barriers were significantly higher in the inactive (mean = 2.3) stage than in the preparation (mean = 2.1), action (mean = 1.9), and maintenance (mean = 1.7) stages of physical activity behavior. Discussion. The results suggest that many perceptions of physical activity differ significantly among stages of behavior in this sample of African-American college women. A limitation was that some scales were modified specifically for this population and were not validated.