Abstract
BackgroundInteraction in the form of cooperation, communication, and friendly competition theoretically precede the development of group cohesion, which often precedes adherence to health promotion programs. The purpose of this manuscript was to explore longitudinal relationships among dimensions of group cohesion and group-interaction variables to inform and improve group-based strategies within programs aimed at promoting physical activity.MethodsEthnic minority women completed a group dynamics-based physical activity promotion intervention (N = 103; 73% African American; 27% Hispanic/Latina; mage = 47.89 + 8.17 years; mBMI = 34.43+ 8.07 kg/m2) and assessments of group cohesion and group-interaction variables at baseline, 6 months (post-program), and 12 months (follow-up).ResultsAll four dimensions of group cohesion had significant (ps < 0.01) relationships with the group-interaction variables. Competition was a consistently strong predictor of cohesion, while cooperation did not demonstrate consistent patterns of prediction.ConclusionsFacilitating a sense of friendly competition may increase engagement in physical activity programs by bolstering group cohesion.
Highlights
Interaction in the form of cooperation, communication, and friendly competition theoretically precede the development of group cohesion, which often precedes adherence to health promotion programs
We extended the findings of previous studies to show that friendly competition predicted most of the dimensions of group cohesion at all time points using longitudinal analyses
Group dynamics-based physical activity programs are successful at achieving their outcomes of interest [18]
Summary
Interaction in the form of cooperation, communication, and friendly competition theoretically precede the development of group cohesion, which often precedes adherence to health promotion programs. The purpose of this manuscript was to explore longitudinal relationships among dimensions of group cohesion and group-interaction variables to inform and improve group-based strategies within programs aimed at promoting physical activity. Over the previous two decades, a large body of literature has documented the positive relationship between group cohesion and physical activity adoption and maintenance [10,11,12,13,14]. Participants who have strong perceptions of group cohesion attend group sessions more often, are late less often, and drop out less frequently [11]
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