Attitudinal, social, and practical correlates to fitness behavior: A test of the theory of planned behavior

Professional management personnel (N = 73) who exercise were studied to assess the efficacy of the theory of planned behavior in predicting intention to exercise and amount of exercise. Four rating scales were used for the assessment of attitude toward fitness, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention to exercise. In addition, frequency of exercise was measured and recorded for five months. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that 26.6% of the variance of intention to exercise was contributed by both fitness attitude and subjective norm, with the unique contribution of attitude toward fitness (part r = .36) slightly greater than that of subjective norm (part r = .33). 8% of the unique variance of exercise was explained by intention to exercise. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses also indicated that perceived behavioral control did not account for a significant variance in intention to exercise but did account for a significant variance in amount of exercise (R² change = .21). In the environment in which it was tested, results support the theory of planned behavior for understanding the exercise behavior of professional management personnel who exercise.