An analysis of leisure physical activity behaviors and determinants among adolescents in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the leisure physical activity behaviors, their determinants, and perceived barriers among high school adolescents in Taiwan. The participants of this study consisted of 526 11th grade students from 14 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan, during the spring of 1998. The social cognitive theory and the social marketing principles were used as the theoretical foundations for this study. All participants completed a Physical Activity Questionnaire, which was taken from the available literature and was analyzed by an independent t test, MANOVAs, Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis.;The results revealed that over one third (34%) of female and 12% of male adolescents had no leisure physical activity during a one-week period. The most frequently reported types of leisure physical activities were basketball, jogging, badminton, and table tennis. The frequency for each leisure physical activity was most frequently reported as once (45.1%) or twice (25.5%) during a one-week period. Male adolescents reported significantly more leisure physical activity time than females, and overall, males engaged in leisure physical activity at a higher perceived intensity levels than females. Senior vocational school students were found to engage in leisure physical activity much more than senior high school adolescents during a one-week period.;Significant differences were found in specific determinants and perceived barriers by gender, school type, and activity level. Males and active adolescents had more positive attitudes in most of the selected determinants and perceived less constraint of the barriers than females and inactive adolescents, respectively. Self-efficacy was found to have the highest correlation to leisure physical activity among all selected determinants, while "laziness" had the highest correlation among perceived barriers. Multiple regression analysis showed that the significant determinants and perceived barriers explained over 50% of the variance in the leisure physical activity among adolescents. The findings of this study will provide information for designing appropriate intervention programs to increase physical activity participation among adolescents in Taiwan.