Exploring Relationships Between Physical Activity, Leisure Involvement, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation via Participant Segmentation

Abstract

Research objectives were both applied and conceptual. Actionable segments of physical activity participants were developed using leisure involvement profiles. Also explored were links between leisure involvement, a construct primarily developed and applied in leisure literature, and psychological variables found to influence participation in physical activity literature. A community-based sample of 384 adults completed measures of five involvement facets and psychological, demographic, and behavioral variables. Cluster analysis revealed four groups: Extremely Involved, Quite Involved, Moderately Involved, and Marginally Involved. Scores for physical activity behavior, self-efficacy, motivations, and body mass index were most positive for the Extremely Involved, with a linear decline across the three remaining segments (p < .05). Few demographic between-group differences were found. The data suggest that leisure involvement provides an effective means of segmenting physically active leisure participants for purposes of research and health promotion, and that self-efficacy and motivation for physical activity were predictably linked to involvement.