Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Study of Psychological Factors Affecting on Physical Activity of Female Employees

Aim: Insufficient physical activity in women exposes them to problems such as overweight, diabetes, depression and cardiovascular diseases on top. In between, employees have minimum physical activity due to type of their job. The goal of this study was determining psychological factors effective on the physical activity of women working in University of Tehran based on the theory of planned behavior.
Methods: The research population included female office workers from the University of Tehran, who were selected through a call at this university in 2014 for this descriptive analytical cross-sectional study. For data gathering, a questionnaire was used with acceptable validity and reliability including demographic information and constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as well as International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Data were analyzed using SPSS21. The statistical bivariate correlation test and stepwise regression test were employed at the significance level of 0.05.
Findings: In this study, behavioral intention had a positive and significant relation with perceived behavioral control (P=0.000) and attitude (P=0.042). Also behavioral intention had a positive and significant relation with physical activity (P=0.000). Stepwise regression analysis was used to evaluate important factors effective on prediction of behavior and intention; it determined 40% of intention variance (R2= 0.408).
Conclusion: The results of the study showed that constructs such as attitude and perceived behavioral control can be effective on the behavioral intention and physical behavior of female employees; therefore, these factors must be seriously considered in educational planning for this group of the society.