Using the integrative model to predict physical and sedentary activities of elementary children

In the field of public health education there are a number of behavioral theories one can draw upon, however to develop one parsimonious model of popular theories a workshop of theorist (including Albert Bandura and Martin Fishbein) was held and as a result the Integrative Model (IM) was proposed. Since its inception few researchers have fully operationalized its constructs, and it has never been applied to the area of childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of the IM for physical and sedentary activities among children, and identify significant behavioral constructs for these behaviors to inform future health promotion strategies. A total of 251 children completed a valid and reliable survey, evaluating all of the essential constructs of the IM. After a number of model re-specifications (ex. deletion of non-contributing variables) the model proved to have good fit. Results indicated a significant positive relationship among a number of variables, including: mood and involvement in sports with attitudes; mood, program exposure, and involvement in sports with perceived norms; and mood, program exposure, and involvement in sports with perceived behavioral control. In addition attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control predicted intentions, while intentions and perceived behavioral control positively predicted total activity. Attitudes and perceived norms negatively predicted total screen time. Results suggest that the IM is an advantageous and practical theory in explaining physical and sedentary activities among children. More work is needed to better operationalize constructs of the IM that have not been fully explored.