A Pilot Study Examining Exercise Self-Efficacy as a Mediator for Walking Behavior in College-Age Women

Since mechanisms of behavior change are not always evaluated in physical activity interventions, current interventions are limited until these mechanisms are better understood (Bauman, Sallis, Dzewaltowski, & Owen, 2002). Therefore, studies are needed that examine mediating variables, derived from theory, in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions. A mediator is a variable that must be included in an intervention in order for a specific change in a dependent variable or outcome to occur (MacKinnon, 2008). MacKinnon (2008) describes several methods of identifying mediators using statistical procedures, including the causal inference approach, difference in coefficients, product of coefficients, structural equation modeling and bootstrap estimates of the mediated effect

Evaluating a modified exercise self-efficacy scale for college-age women

This pilot study examined test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities of original and modified formats of the Exercise Self-efficacy Scale in college-age women. 30 completed original and modified versions of the scale. Data from both tests, administered 1 wk. apart, were analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to assess test-retest reliability and Cronbach coefficient alpha for internal consistency. Scores for both versions correlated .96. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the original scale were .96 for Time 1 and .98 for Time 2. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the revised scale were .95 for Time 1 and .98 for Time 2. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency remained consistently high for both versions of the scales within this sample. Implications for use of this scale and recommendations for research are given

A 6-Month Pilot Study of Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention on Life Satisfaction with a Sample of Three Generations of Women

This pilot study assessed possible changes in Life Satisfaction across three generations of women after a 6-mo. physical activity intervention. The primary purpose of the study was to test the study design and discover critical issues that should be controlled for or changed in a follow-up study. A quasi-experimental design was used to assign randomly a convenience sample of participant triads into two groups: a home-based group (n=27) and a control group (n=9). Daughters were pre-menarcheal (n=13,M=10.1 yr., SD=1.5), mothers were premenopausal (n=11, M=10.1 yr., SD=1.5) and grandmothers were post-menopausal (n=1, M-61.5 yr., SD=4.4). Life Satisfaction was measured using the Safisfaction with Life Scale. Participation in physical activity was measured using the Physical Best Physical Activity Questionnaire and a pedometer to count the number of steps taken per day. Compared with the control group, participants in the home-based group generally increased physical activity but their scores for Life Satisfaction did not increase. Recommendations concerning the study design, reducing limitations, and hypotheses for further study are given