| The stages of motivational readiness to change leisure time physical activity behavior of students from two Mississippi community colleges were investigated. The Stages of Motivational Readiness to Change (SMRC) model postulates that behavior change is a longitudinal process described by five stages that assess an individual's motivational level relative to changing leisure time physical activity behavior. That is, individuals are positioned in one of the following five stages at any given point in time: (a) precontemplation (i.e., no intention to change); (b) contemplation (i.e., considering a change); (c) preparation (i.e., small changes already made toward an ultimate behavior goal); (d) action (i.e., a desired behavior has been adopted); or (e) maintenance (i.e., working to prevent a relapse). The Physical Activity Stages of Change Questionnaire (PASQ) was used for data collection in this study. The results revealed 35% were completely sedentary (precontemplation, contemplation) and 64.9% were participating in occasional or regular leisure time physical activity (preparation, action, maintenance). To examine the dependency of stage position upon ethnicity, gender, age, and income, the chi-square test of independence was performed. Findings indicated stage position to be independent of ethnicity, but dependent upon the remaining independent variables. This study's conclusions indicated that stage-matched interventions are necessary to increase and maintain individual leisure time physical activity behavior. |
