Does Future Time Perspective Moderate Associations of Instrumental and Affective Attitude With Exercise Behavior? A...

To develop effective promotion strategies for exercise behavior in older adults, it is essential to identify the psychological determinants. Previous studies investigated affective and instrumental attitudes as determinants. However, from the conceptual assumptions of socioemotional selectivity theory, affective attitudes might be more influential on the exercise behavior of older adults with an expansive future time perspective, whereas instrumental attitudes would be more influential on those with limited perspectives. This study examined whether the associations of affective and instrumental attitudes with behavioral intention and exercise behavior differed according to future time perspective among older Japanese adults.

Data were obtained from a 3-wave longitudinal questionnaire survey of 886 individuals (Wave 1: December 2017-January 2018; Wave 2, 1-year follow-up; Wave 3, 3-year follow-up). Using the data on exercise behavior, affective and instrumental attitudes, and behavioral intention at each wave, and the data of future time perspective and demographic factors at Wave 1, this study performed multiple regression analyses and a multigroup cross-lagged model.

Affective attitude was a significant predictor of behavioral intention regardless of future time perspective. Although instrumental attitude significantly predicted behavioral intention among those with a lower future time perspective, it did not predict behavioral intention among those with middle-to-higher future time perspective. Regardless of future time perspective, affective attitude, but not instrumental attitude, significantly predicted exercise behavior.

Unlike the socioemotional selectivity theory, this study found that affective attitude was more influential on exercise behavior than instrumental attitude regardless of future time perspective among them.