Understanding the Physical Activity Behavior of Iranian Female Students: Two Approaches to Analyzing the Theory of Planned Behavior

Background Living without sufficient amount of physical activity is known as a contributing factor to countless diseases. This research study aimed to determine the relationships between the constructs of the theory of planned behavior and female students’ physical activity with a path analysis approach. Materials and Methods The present research is a descriptive-analytic study conducted through cross-sectional data collection procedure. 185 female students were selected via multi-phase random sampling in elementary schools in Mashhad, Iran, from February to November 2018. Path analysis was performed by AMOOS version 22.0 and SmartPLS 2.0 to test the causal relationship among physical activityand constructs of the theory of planned behavior. Results The age range of female students was between 10 and 13, with mean and standard deviation of 11.51 ±0.76, respectively. The results showed that the constructs of attitude (r=0.177, p=0.018), and perceived behavioral control (r=0.234, p=0.001) had a direct and significant relationship with physical activity intention. However, the direct relationship between the constructs of subjective norms and physical activity intention was not significant (P>0.05). Also the direct relationship between the constructs of physical activity intention and physical activity behavior was not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion Based on the results, the constructs of attitude, and perceived behavioral control had a direct and significant relationship with physical activity intention in female students.