Behavioral Intention
There was a statistically significant association revealed between self-efficacy and intention as well as between beliefs and intention. Those who Will Be Physically Active had significantly higher self-efficacy and beliefs scores compared to those who May or May Not be Physically Active and who Will Not be Physically Active. Also, those who Probably Will be Physically Active had higher beliefs scores compared to those who May
Children‟s Attitudes 82
or May Not be Physically Active. These findings suggest that more positive beliefs and a higher sense of self-efficacy are associated with higher extracurricular PA participation rates in third grade children. However, more research is needed in this area.
Analysis revealed a strong relationship between beliefs and intentions but not between social influences and intentions. This suggests that beliefs and attitudes may be better predictors of intentions to be physically active than subjective norm among this study sample.
However, it is important to note that the construct of subjective norm as operationalized in the TRA may not be meaningful to young children. Since most children view PA as a health enhancing behavior, they may be reluctant to believe that important adult role models (e.g. parents and teachers) would not want them to participate in PA (Trost, Saunders et al., 2002).