Predictors of leisure-time physical activity among African American women.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the extent to which social support and self-efficacy were related to the duration of leisure-time physical activity in a sample of African American women.

METHODS

Two hundred forty African American women completed a 45-item questionnaire at community health centers and churches.

RESULTS

Mean weekly physical activity was found to be 88 minutes. Self-efficacy (P < or = 0.01) and frequency of social support from friends (P < or = 0.01) were found to be significant predictors for physical activity and accounted for 23.7% of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity interventions for Black women must build on the constructs of self-efficacy and friends' social support.