| In last years, in the field of Exercise and Sport Psychology, several Social-Cognitive models have been proposed in order to explain the processes and determinants of physical activity. Those models had explained a moderate percentage of the physical exercise behavior variance. Recently, through the application of the Transtheoretical Stage of Change Model to physical activity, physical exercise is conceived as a dynamic and complex behavior, in which individuals progress through various stages of exercise form total inactivity to regular participation.;The present study represents an attempt to provide knowledge about the factors and processes that influence physical exercise participation, through the inclusion of the stage of exercise variable in the social-cognitive models.;384 university students, recluted by incidental selection, completed the questionnaires including the social-cognitive variables. Once descriptive and association analysis were made, the social-cognitive models were tested using structural equation modeling, without and within the inclusion of the stage of exercise variable.;The results obtained seemed to confirm that the inclusion of the stage of exercise variable in the social-cognitive models increased the explained variance accounted for physical activity behaviour, offering an excellent fit to the data. By the other hand, perceived behavioral control variable resulted to be the most powerful predictor of physical activity behavior. In addition, the present study findings suggest future intervention lines in order to modificate physical activity pattern of the university population. |
