Psycho-social predictors of exercise intentions among spouses

Psychosocial predictors of the intention to undertake leisure-time exercise have been studied in 210 couples with children attending grades 7 through 9. For both partners in these households, the variables measured included Fishbein's concepts of beliefs, attitudes and societal norms, in addition to age, education level, current physical activity habits, prior experience of physical activity, and family socio-economic status. Considered together, these observations explained 49% and 27% of the variance in intentions to exercise among male and female partners respectively. In contrast to previous studies using a less structured methodology, attitude was the most important determinant of intention in both male and female partners. In the men only, interaction terms relating to passive forms of spousal support and socio-economic status increased the explained proportion of variance. Differences of beliefs and their evaluations between those with high and low intentions to exercise generally coincided with the patterns previously observed in surveys of exercise class participants. However, there were some persistent culture--related gender differences, women seeking to improve health and control body weight, while men attempted to improve other aspects of their personal appearance and "meet people". Such expectations have important practical implications for the design of fitness promotion programmes.