| Description |
Adults with sedentary work environments are unlikely to achieve adequate amounts of physical activity for health benefits unless they deliberately engage in leisure-time exercise behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate not only the positive factors that motivate greater exercise participation, such as expectancies of success and perceived value of exercising, but also the perceived costs of leisure-time exercise that may negatively influence exercise patterns. A questionnaire based on Eccles and colleagues' Expectancy-Value Model (EEVM) of achievement-related choice was distributed to office-working adults (n = 134). Heterotrait-monotrait analysis was used to determine the discriminant validity of hypothesized types of costs, value, and expectancy beliefs associated with leisure-time exercise. This analysis supported overall value and four separate types of cost as distinct variables within EEVM. A series of hierarchical regressions supported the predictive validity of these variables for self-reported exercise volume, R = .77, R^2 = .59, F(13, 120) = 13.50, p < .001. The strongest predictors of exercise were perceived value (B = .40) and the outside effort cost (B = -.38) associated with the behavior. Findings suggest that costs relate to leisure-time exercise separately from perceived value. The perception that spending time on exercise detracts from other aspects of individuals' lives may need to be addressed separately from the perceived usefulness, interest, or importance of exercise itself in order to foster greater levels of physical activity. |
