Development and evaluation of stage-matched written materials about lifestyle and structured physical activity

Two sets of written materials about physical activity were developed, one promoting lifestyle exercise and the other promoting structured exercise. Both sets integrated the Transtheoretical Model of behavior-change concepts. Materials were evaluated by 8 women and 6 men (M age = 63.1 yr.) using a stratified (by gender) randomized group design. Participants evaluated the materials on 8 factors of a standardized instrument. Cronbach alpha was .97. No significant differences were found between the two sets of materials on the 8 factors evaluated. Effect size differences ranged from .16 to .84 (M = .46).