Is the relationship between intention and physical activity moderated by socioeconomic status? A systematic review

Evidence indicates that individual intention, as conceptualised by Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is the most proximal predictor of physical activity; yet, the intention-physical activity relationship might vary by difference in socioeconomic status (SES). The present study systematically reviewed the existing literature in an attempt to explore the moderation effect of SES on the relationship between intention and physical activity. Searching identified 90 studies from 82 articles. SES indicator was comprised three dimensions – education, occupation and income, and SES indices were measured using the standardised point system Random effect meta-regression was employed, and the result found that intention was a significant predicator of physical activity (28% variance explained). Moderation analysis revealed that overall SES indicator was not a significant moderator for intention-physical activity relation. Analysis on individual indicators showed that education and occupation were significant moderators, whereas income was not. Different facets of SES have more merits than the overall SES, which provided more specific information on intention-physical consistency