Decisional balance, self-efficacy and its association to the exercise enjoyment in Mexican population

Abstract

Physical activity practice is a classic behaviour of the healthy lifestyle. Nonetheless, it is difficult for general population to have this behaviour among their habits. From the decision-making model, decisional balance has been identified as a relevant process in relation to doing physical activity. On the other hand, self-efficacy has been pointed out as a key point in relation to practice, adherence and enjoyment in physical activity. The aim of this study was to examine decisional balance and self-efficacy as a predictor of exercise enjoyment in a sample of 530 participants (48.2% male) between the ages of 11 and 76 (M = 33.22; SD = 15.27) from Monterrey (Mexico). Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to predict exercise enjoyment. Results showed that decisional balance and self-efficacy predicted enjoyment, additionally, self-efficacy played a mediational role between decisional balance and enjoyment.