Stages of change among ethnically diverse college students

J Am Coll Health. 2002 Jul;51(1):26-31. doi: 10.1080/07448480209596324.

Abstract

The authors applied the stage-of-change construct in the transtheoretical model to examine the distribution of Asian (n = 869), African American (n = 373), White (n = 1322), and Hispanic (n = 535) American undergraduate students across the 5 stages of change for exercise. Stage of change varied as a function of ethnicity. Higher percentages of minorities were in the precontemplation and contemplation stages. The likelihood of being in these stages was from 43% to 82% greater for minorities than for White students. Also examined were the congruency between stage of change and self-reported levels of physical activity. Half of the sedentary students and 15.6% of the active students were misclassified by the stage-of-change procedure. Misclassification rates were higher for minority women (27.8%) than for White women (17.8%) and for Asian students (24.6%) compared with all others (20.6%). The results of this study have implications for the design of physical activity interventions based on stage of change.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Asian / psychology
  • Asian / statistics & numerical data
  • Black or African American / psychology
  • Black or African American / statistics & numerical data
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Cultural Diversity*
  • Exercise / psychology*
  • Female
  • Health Behavior / ethnology*
  • Hispanic or Latino / psychology
  • Hispanic or Latino / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Self Efficacy
  • Sex Factors
  • Students / psychology*
  • United States
  • Universities*
  • White People / psychology
  • White People / statistics & numerical data