Darker, Catherine Deirdre Dorothy (2008)
Ph.D. thesis, University of Birmingham.
This research applied the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to the development and evaluation of a TPB measure of walking cognitions and an intervention to encourage walking behaviour. Study one (N=10) used interpretative phenomenological analysis to provide a rich and detailed account of walking in which participants reported walking as not being “proper” exercise. Perceptions of walking were incongruent with current health promotion campaigns, which focus on the health benefits of walking. Study two (N=180) demonstrated the wide range of beliefs that people hold in relation to walking and was used to develop a TPB questionnaire based on current recommendations. Study three (N=45) showed that TPB measurement development yields problematic questions, making it difficult for participants to interpret and respond to questions. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) was identified as the key determinant of walking behaviour. The final study (N=130) demonstrated that increasing PBC led to an increase in objectively measured walking, in general public participants, from 20 minutes to 32 minutes a day. At one month follow up, participants maintained their increases in walking. Overall, the findings of this thesis partially support the proposed causal nature of the TPB as a framework for developing and evaluating health behaviour change interventions.
|Type of Work:||Ph.D. thesis.|
|School/Faculty:||Schools (1998 to 2008) > School of Sport & Exercise Science|
|Department:||Sport and Exercise Sciences|
Research from this thesis is published in the following articles: 1: Darker CD, Larkin M, French DP. An exploration of walking behaviour--an interpretative phenomenological approach. Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Nov; 65(10): 2172-83. ISSN 0277-9536 doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.06.029 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.06.029 2: Darker CD, French DP, Longdon S, Morris K, Eves FF. Are beliefs elicited biased by question order? A theory of planned behaviour belief elicitation study about walking in the UK general population. British Journal of Health Psychology. 2007 Feb;12(Pt1): 93-110. ISSN 2044-8287 DOI: 10.1348/135910706X100458 http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/135910706X100458 3: Darker CD, French DP. What sense do people make of a theory of planned behaviour questionnaire?: a think-aloud study. Journal of Health Psychology. 2009 Oct;14(7):861-71. ISSN 1461-7277 doi: 10.1177/1359105309340983 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1359105309340983 4: Darker CD, French DP, Eves FF, Sniehotta FF. An intervention to promote walking amongst the general population based on an 'extended' theory of planned behaviour: a waiting list randomised controlled trial. Psychology & Health. 2010 Jan;25(1):71-88. ISSN 0887-0446 DOI: 10.1080/08870440902893716 6
|Institution:||University of Birmingham|
|Library Catalogue:||Check for printed version of this thesis|
Repository Staff Only: item control page