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Psychosocial and Perceived Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity in Rural and Older African American and White Women

¹ Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
² Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia.

Address correspondence to Sara Wilcox, PhD, Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 1300 Wheat Street, Columbia, SC 29208. E-mail: swilcox{at}sc.edu

African American and rural older women are among the least active segments of the population. This study, guided by social cognitive theory, examined the correlates of physical activity (PA) in 102 rural older women (41% African American; 70.6 ± 9.2 years). In bivariate associations, education, marital status, self-efficacy, greater pros than cons, perceived stress, social support, and perceived neighborhood safety were positively associated with PA; age, depressive symptoms, perceived sidewalks, health care provider discussion of PA, and perceived traffic were negatively associated with PA. In a hierarchical regression analysis, the sociodemographic (R² = 23%), psychological (IR² = 9%), social (IR² = 6%), and perceived physical environmental (IR² = 9%) sets of variables were significant (p <.05) predictors of PA (model R² = 47%). In response to open-ended questions, most women cited individual and social factors as PA barriers and motivators; falls, injuries, and heart attacks were identified most often as risks. These findings support the importance of multilevel influences on PA in older rural women and are useful for informing PA interventions.

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