Self-efficacy and participation in vigorous physical activity by high school students

The relationship between physical activity self-efficacy and participation in vigorous physical activity by high school students is examined in this a rticle. Self-efficacy is hypothesized to be positively related to participa tion in three settings (physical education class, other school-related acti vities, and outside of school). The effects of age, gender, perceived barri ers, and actual barriers are also examined. The sample consists of 1,041 gr ade 9 and 11 students from a large Metropolitan Toronto school board. Facto rs derived from a previous (factor) analysis were used to examine the effec ts of self-efficacy, perceived barriers, and life strain (an actual barrier ). The results of multiple regression analysis indicate that physical activ ity self-efficacy, despite external barriers (but not internal barriers), i s predictive of physical activity participation in the hypothesized directi on. Other results show consistent age and gender effects on physical activi ty participation and some support for the hypothesized relationship between perceived barriers and participation.