ORIGINAL ARTICLE Predicting the Physical Activity Intention–Behavior Profiles of Adopters and Maintainers Using Three Social Cognition Models

Background Most of the population have positive intentions to engage in physical activity (PA) but fail to act; thus, the need to understand successful translation of intention into behavior is warranted in order to focus intervention efforts. Purpose The objective of the study is to examine con-structs of the transtheoretical model, theory of planned behavior, and protection motivation theory as predictors of physical activity intention–behavior profiles across 6 months in a Canadian workplace sample. Methods Employees from three large organizations in the province of Alberta (n=887) completed a baseline survey relating to their demographic and medical background, PA, and social–cognitive constructs. A total of 611 participants completed a second assessment 6 months later. Results Participants were grouped by five profiles: non-intenders, unsuccessful adopters, successful adopters, unsuc-cessful maintainers, and successful maintainers. Perceived importance and concern for PA (cognitive processes, instru-mental attitude, perceived severity) distinguished nonintenders from the other four profiles, self-management and self-regulation of the behavior (behavioral processes, self-efficacy) distinguished successful adopters from unsuccessful adopters, while control over constraints (cons, perceived control, self-efficacy) were the key discriminators of successful maintainers from unsuccessful maintainers. Conclusion The results provide useful information for intervention campaigns and demonstrate a need to consider adoption and maintenance profiles