Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Theory of Planned Behavior among Young People in a Physical Activity Context

Abstract

The present study tested the cross-cultural generalizability of the measurement and structural parameters of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) among youth in a physical activity context. Pupils from five cultural groups completed measures of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and intentions for physical activity. Five weeks later, participants completed self-report measures of physical activity behavior. Confirmatory factor analyses and multisample structural equation models revealed well-fitting models within each sample with minimal variations in the measurement parameters across cultures. There were a few significant cross-cultural differences in the structural relations among the TPB constructs. Attitudes predicted intentions in all samples (β range = .300 to .550), whereas the effect of the subjective norms on intention was nonsignificant in all but the Hungarian sample (β = .243). Conversely, the effect of PBC on intentions was significant (β range = .302 to .573) in all but the Hungarian sample. Findings support the generalizability of the measures and pattern of effects for the TPB among young people in a physical activity context.

The Role of Importance Perceptions in Participant Sport

“…In addition, the TPB incorporates psychological antecedents as well as a manifest behavioral variable, both of which are of interest from a marketing perspective. The appropriateness of the TPB in the context of sport participation has been widely lauded (e.g., Chun, Yusof, Soon and Abdullah, 2014;Hagger, et al, 2007).Reconceptualizing the instrumental component to incorporate an assessment of potential benefits is important because this construct may be linked to behavioral persistence (Ryan andDeci, (2007), a desirable outcome which may facilitate benefit attainment.…”

“…One example of how this construct has been operationalized comes from Hagger et al, (2007) who asked survey respondents how many times they had participated within the last five weeks.…”

“…In TPB frameworks, behavior is typically operationalized using self-report measures of past behavior (e.g., Hagger et al, 2007) asking respondents to identify the number of times they have participated over a given period. One example of how this construct has been operationalized comes from Hagger et al, (2007) who asked survey respondents how many times they had participated within the last five weeks.…”

“…Hagger et al, (2007) used two items (listed first in Table 3) to measure the construct in their research. A third item was developed specifically for this research, essentially to ensure that the construct was measured effectively and thoroughly.…”

Relación de las emociones y la actividad física dentro de la teoría de la conducta planificada. (Relation of emotions and physical activity within the theory of planned behavior).

“…La TCP ha sido utilizada en diferentes ámbitos de la conducta social y de salud (Conner y Sparks, 2005;Downs y Hausenblas, 2005), en diferentes poblaciones y etnias (Blanchard, Fisher, Sparling, Nehl, Rhodes y Courneya, 2008a;Blanchard, Kupperman, Sparling, Nehl, Rhodes y Courneya, 2008b) y ampliamente en el ámbito de la actividad física (Abraham y Sheeran, 2004;Hagger et al, 2002;Hagger et al, 2007). El meta-análisis realizado sobre la TAR y la TCP (Sutton, 1998) mostró que la actitud, la norma subjetiva y el control conductual percibido explicaban entre el 40-50% de la varianza de la intención.…”