Purpose : This study was carried out to identify the factor of decisional balance for exercise. This was composed of a set of variables at the level of decision making when the elderly decide to do exercise. It was used to classify and identify the characteristics of the stages of change for exercise to which the elderly belong, and was used to identify the variables of decisional balance which influence the stage of change for exercise in the elderly.
Methods : Convenient samples of 198 subjects over age 60 in Seoul(mean age=70) were selected from community living, mentally competent older adults and the data was collected from April 1, 1999 to May 31, 1999. The research instrument was the Decisional Balance Measure for Exercise(Marcus & Owen., 1992), Stage of Change Measure(Marcus et al, 1992). The data was analyzed by SAS Program.
Results: 1. According to stage of change measure, without missing data, 191 subjects were distributed in each stage of change for exercise : 50 subjects(26.1%), 7 subjects(3.6%), 52 subjects(27.2%), 4 subjects(2%), and 78 subjects(40.8%) belonged to the pre-contemplation stage, contemplation stage, preparation stage, action stage and maintenance stage. 2. Factor analysis identified 3 factors of decisional balance as appropriate factors for excise of the elderly and named by researchers; 1)’Perceived Physical-psychological benefit’, 2)’Perceived Physical-psychological burden’, and 3)’Perceived time burden’. 3. The analysis of variance showed that the two components Perceived Physical - psychological benefit(F=45.95, p=.0001), and Perceived Physical-psychological burden(F=26.52, P=.001) were significantly associated with stage of change. 4. Through the discriminant analysis, it was found that both ’Self Perceived Physical-Psychological benefit’ and ’Perceived Physical-Psychological burden’ were the influential variables in discriminating the three stages of change(pre-contemplation, preparation, and maintenance).
Conclusion: Results are consistent with the application of the Transtheoretical model, which has been used to understand how people change health behaviors. Even though this study is a cross-sectional, not a longitudinal study, the findings of this study give useful information for exercise intervention about especially the factors relating to decision making for exercise of the elderly in the different stages of change of exercise.
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