Perceptions, attitudes, and subjective norms influencing the decisions of physically frail seniors to exercise or not to exercise: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

Guided by the Theory of planned Behavior (TPB), this study was an exploratory investigation of attitudinal, normative, and perceptual determinants of exercise behavior among community residing older adults who reported difficulties in performing one or more activities of daily living. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the relationship between various components of the TPB model and exercise behavior in a sample of community-dwelling physically frail older adults aged 65 and over, and (2) to examine the differences between "low actives" and "high actives" with respect to the TPB variables and selected sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. This descriptive comparative study involved two phases: (1) instrument development to measure the TPB constructs and pilot testing on a purposive sample of 10 seniors; and (2) a cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of 99 community-dwelling seniors in the Ottawa-Carleton Region. Subjects were recruited from a variety of community settings, using both direct (in-person) and indirect (key informant) approaches. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. (Abstract shortened by UMI.