Changes in perceived health locus of control and perceived self-efficacy following participation in an exercise program

This quasi-experimental study tested the following hypotheses: participation in an exercise program alters (a) perceived health locus of control and (b) perceived self-efficacy. Perceived health locus of control was operationalized by the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) instrument. The Self-efficacy (SE) instrument was used to measure perceived self-efficacy.;Sixty-five college students completed MHLC and SE instruments at an initial contact and again one month later. Thirty-six of these students comprised the experimental group and participated in an exercise program throughout the study. Statistically significant rates of change from pretesting to posttesting were found between the experimental group and the control group scores on the CHLC (p = 0.0027) and the PHLC (p = 0.0002) dimensions of the MHLC instrument. No significant differences were found in rates of change between the groups on the IHLC (p = 0.8352) dimension of the MHLC instrument or on the SE instrument (p = 0.06294).