EXERCISE BEHAVIOR IN AN AEROBICS CLASS - THE IMPACT OF PERSONALITY-TRAITS AND EFFICACY COGNITIONS

The current study attempted to predict exercise attendance in a group of 46 initially sedentary women over the course of an 8-week aerobics exercise programme. Baseline measures of personality, self-efficacy an d psychological well-being were assessed prior to the inception of the exercise programme. The results of a multiple regression indicated th at the personality trait extraversion and an exercise-specific measure of self-efficacy accounted for approximately 16% and 15% of the varia nce in exercise session attendance, respectively. Specifically, high e xtraversion was associated with lower attendance, while high self-effi cacy was related to higher attendance. These findings are discussed in relation to implications for exercise research. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd.