The transtheoretical model of behavior change and social physique anxiety among middle school physical education students

There is a need to look at the determinants of exercise behavior in adolescents, as there is a large deficit of research concerning this population. The purpose of this study was to examine Social Physique Anxiety (SPA) and the body shape of adolescents participating in a semester of physical education class. A secondary purpose was to create general profiles by combining the SPA information and the Transtheoretical Model (TM) of behavior change. Middle school students (N= 374) participated by completing a regularly scheduled physical education class and completing the Exercise Behavior Change Survey (which assessed Body Shape, SPA and TM) pre and post semester. The study revealed participation in class had no effect on SPA levels or Body Shape scores, nor did the study reveal any gender differences with these two concepts. Concerning the TM, SPA may not be a factor for progressing through the stages of change, although it may effect which processes were utilized and how one identifies the pros and cons of exercising. The Social Physique Anxiety Scale only reached an alpha of .50, possibly contributing to the lack of relationship between SPA and TM.School of Physical EducationThesis (M.S.