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The article is peer-reviewed and published in the scientific journal National Library of Medicine: The influence of life transitions on Danish adults’ physical activity beliefs and behaviour: A qualitative study.
What is the study about?
The study explores how major life transitions shape Danish adults’ beliefs about physical activity and their everyday activity behaviour, drawing on a theory-driven qualitative design. The analysis investigates how salient life transitions influence adults’ attitudes, perceived social norms and perceived behavioural control in relation to physical activity, and how shifts in these beliefs translate into changes in activity behaviour.
It is based on 42 in-depth, semi-structured life story interviews.
Main conclusions:
- Life transitions systematically reshape physical activity behaviour, most often disrupting activity levels, however with retirement as a consistent facilitator of increased activity.
- Different life transitions influence attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control in distinct ways, but with perceived behavioural control declining across most transitions.
- Social contexts, time constraints, and access to facilities emerge as cross-cutting mechanisms linking life transitions to changes in physical activity behaviour.
Published: 2024
Authors:
Birgitte Westerskov Dalgas, Kyra Hamilton (Griffith University, Australia), Karsten Elmose-Østerlund, Thomas Bredahl.
Contact:
Birgitte Westerskov Dalgas, bwpedersen@health.sdu.dk.
Support/Funding:
Nordea-fonden and University of Southern Denmark.