Application of the transtheoretical model to understand physical activity in college students

Abstract

The present study investigated the physical activity level of college students, the differences in the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) constructs by the stage of physical activity, and the theorized association of the TTM constructs with the stage of physical activity in college students. A total of 598 Korean college students (mean age = 21.52 years, SD = 2.59) from Seoul National University of Science and Technology, South Korea were voluntarily participated in the study. The standardized measures in Korean were applied to assess the study participants’ physical activity and the TTM constructs. Results indicated that there are significant differences in the physical activity distributions by gender. Moreover, the current findings revealed that all of the TTM constructs and physical activity differentiated college students across the stages of physical activity and that overall classification accuracy across the stages of physical activity was 53.0%. The study increases awareness but also influences perceptions regarding theoretically based and practically important physical activity strategies for public health professionals and health care providers.

Keywords

• Physical activity
• College students
• Transtheoretical model
• Psychosocial factors