Using the theory of planned behavior to understand the determinants of exercise intention in patients diagnosed with primary brain cancer

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the demographic, medical, and social cognitive determinants of exercise intentions in a institution‐based cohort of primary brain tumor patients. Using a cross‐sectional survey, 100 primary brain tumor patients completed a mailed survey that assessed medical and demographic characteristics, past exercise behavior using the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ), and social cognitive beliefs towards exercise using Aizen's theory of planned behavior (TPB; i.e. intention, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, affective and instrumental attitude). Descriptive statistics indicated that participants had positive social cognitive beliefs towards exercise. In support of the tenets of the TPB, we found moderate to large (>0.40) positive correlations between the majority of TPB constructs. Moreover, the TPB constructs combined to explain 32% of the variance in exercise intentions with affective attitude (β = 0.24; p = 0.020) and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.36; p2) considering the health benefits of exercise to be more important than their female and normal weight (2) counterparts. Information gained from this study suggests that the TPB is a useful framework to design and implement theoretically based interventions to promote exercise in primary brain cancer patients. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit: