Objectives: The focus of this study was to examine the relationship among precursors to physical activity, including exercise self-efficacy, perceived exertion, stress, and demographic factors, among college students. Design: This study employed an associational design. Setting: The study population was college freshmen in southeast Louisiana who were between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Method: A path analysis was used to examine the strength and directional relationship among variables depicted in Pender’s Health Promotion Model (HPM) and to determine the structure of the relationships among the variables in the conceptual map. Path coefficients were used to determine whether the independent variables (exercise self-efficacy, stress, perceived exertion, demographic factors) as depicted in the path diagram made a unique contribution to predicting physical activity (dependent variable) or if the relationships between stress, perceived exertion, and physical activity, are mediated by exercise self-efficacy. Results: Study results portrayed a relationship between perceived exertion and exercise self-efficacy and a relationship between a person’s belief in their ability to stick to an exercise programme (self-efficacy) and their level of activity. Compared to their counterparts, this study’s population had lower levels of usual physical activity, but heightened levels of physical activity immediately following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Conclusion: This study adds to the body of knowledge related to predictors of physical activity and the applicability of Pender’s HPM to such studies. The study also provides insight into the impact of a natural disaster on physical activity.
Self-Efficacy Study in Computing Among College Freshmen
