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Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Abstract

Most Americans are not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity. In underserved communities, these inequities are even greater, with African American women being less likely to engage in physical activity and being at greater risk for chronic disease relative to non-minority women. This study seeks to further understand the factors that support or undermine engagement in physical activity among African American women. Specifically, the present study evaluates the impact of stress, self-perceptions of health, and self-efficacy on physical activity engagement in a 10-week physical activity intervention program for African American women. Participants (N = 33) completed measures of stress, self-efficacy, and self-perceptions of health at a baseline assessment as part the Developing Real Incentives and Volition for Exercise (DRIVE) study. As part of a group-based intervention, participants received FitBits to track their daily steps and were guided each week in setting a physical activity goal. A linear mixed effects model was used to test whether high stress, low self-efficacy, and low health-related quality of life was associated with lower daily steps across the 10-week intervention. There was a significant interaction between stress and time (B = -1440.250, SE = 644.210, p = .029), such that there was an increase in daily steps across time for those with low stress, but not for those with high stress. There was also a marginal interaction between self-efficacy and time (B= -985.230, SE = 498.090, p = .052), such that there was an increase in daily steps across time for those with relatively low self-efficacy, but not for those with high self-efficacy. There was no significant interaction between self-perceptions of health and time when predicting daily steps. The present study suggests that stress may be important correlates to consider for understanding engagement in behavioral interventions. Continuing to evaluate the best practices for helping underserved communities participate in behavioral interventions holds promise for reducing major health disparities.

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