TITLE:
The Benefits and Barriers Related to Regular Participation in Physical Activity by African-American Women: Implications for Intervention Development
AUTHORS:
Meredith S. Scott, Roy F. Oman, Robert John
KEYWORDS:
Physical Activity Behavior, African American Women, Benefits and Barriers, Maintenance of Physical Activity Behavior, Initiation of Physical Activity Behavior, Transtheoretical Model
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.5 No.4,
April
16,
2015
ABSTRACT: A common strategy for improving health behaviors is to emphasize the benefits and reduce the barriers to behavior change. This study investigated potential differences in perceived benefits and barriers related to participation in physical activity (PA) between women in pre-maintenance versus the maintenance phase of PA behavior to determine if perceived benefits were greater and perceived barriers lower in women with more extensive and successful PA participation experience. Data were collected from a community-based sample (N = 113) of middle-aged African-American women. The sample was stratified into two groups according to how long they had been regularly engaging in PA (6 months or longer versus less than 6 months). Chi-square analyses were conducted to investigate possible differences between the two groups of women in regard to perceived benefits and barriers associated with PA. Descriptive data showed that nearly all of the benefits and barriers to PA were perceived as being important for a majority of the participants and chi-square and t-test results indicated few significant between-group differences (p