Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310098, China.
Department of Physical and Art Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310098, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jul 2;18(13):7116. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18137116.
Despite the well-documented benefits of leisure time physical activity, university employees are often reported to be at high risk of physical inactivity and low fitness levels. However, few efforts have been made to identify modifiable correlates of physical activity among this population. From the perspective of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the current study aims to examine the relationship between physical activity and a series of demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, income, education), self-reported fitness, and social cognitive variables. Data were collected through mail-based surveys from a convenience sample consisting of 116 Chinese university employees (age = 36.59 ± 8.7 y). An array of SCT variables, namely, exercise self-efficacy ( = 0.55, < 0.01), barrier self-efficacy ( = 0.35, < 0.01), exercise social support ( = 0.37, < 0.01), importance of physical self ( = 0.30, < 0.01), outcome expectations ( = 0.24, < 0.05), and satisfaction with health( = 0.32, < 0.01) were found to be positively correlated with physical activity in Chinese faculty and staff, and most of the correlations were moderate to large in magnitude. Further regression analyses indicate that exercise self-efficacy ( = 0.29, < 0.01) and exercise social support from friends ( = 0.70, < 0.01) emerge as significant predictors of physical activity after controlling for age, gender, occupation (faculty or staff), and self-reported fitness. It is concluded that these SCT variables are important correlates of university employees' physical activity behavior. Future physical activity promotion interventions in this population should incorporate strategies to improve one's confidence in maintaining regular physical activity and enhance social support from friends, which are likely to increase the effectiveness of these programs.
尽管休闲时间体育活动的好处有案可稽，但据报道，高校员工通常存在身体活动不足和健康水平低的高风险。然而，针对这一人群，很少有努力来确定可改变的身体活动相关因素。从社会认知理论（SCT）的角度来看，本研究旨在检验身体活动与一系列人口统计学变量（如年龄、性别、收入、教育）、自我报告的健康状况以及社会认知变量之间的关系。研究数据通过邮件调查的方式从 116 名中国高校员工的便利样本中收集（年龄=36.59±8.7 岁）。一系列 SCT 变量，即运动自我效能感（=0.55，<0.01）、障碍自我效能感（=0.35，<0.01）、运动社会支持（=0.37，<0.01）、身体自我重要性（=0.30，<0.01）、结果预期（=0.24，<0.05）和对健康的满意度（=0.32，<0.01），与中国教职工的身体活动呈正相关，大多数相关性的强度为中等至较大。进一步的回归分析表明，在控制年龄、性别、职业（教师或员工）和自我报告的健康状况后，运动自我效能感（=0.29，<0.01）和来自朋友的运动社会支持（=0.70，<0.01）是身体活动的重要预测因素。研究得出结论，这些 SCT 变量是高校员工身体活动行为的重要相关因素。未来在该人群中开展身体活动促进干预措施时，应采用提高人们保持定期身体活动信心和增强来自朋友的社会支持的策略，这可能会提高这些计划的效果。
