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Self-Efficacy and Its Sources as Determinants of Physical Activity among Older People

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The Palgrave Handbook of Ageing and Physical Activity Promotion

Abstract

Self-efficacy—the belief in being able to accomplish a task despite difficulties—is one of the most consistent predictors of physical activity initiation and maintenance in older adults. This chapter therefore first describes self-efficacy and its distinction from similar constructs and embeds self-efficacy within social cognitive theory where it was first described. The chapter then proposes techniques on how to prompt the sources of this important self-belief in older adults before closing with implications for practice in this area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Psychology and Social, Organization and Economic Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Lisa M. Warner

  2. Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Lisa M. Warner

  3. Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    David P. French

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  1. Lisa M. Warner
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  2. David P. French
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom

    Samuel R. Nyman

  2. Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Anna Barker

  3. Department of Physiotherapy, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia

    Terry Haines

  4. School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, London, United Kingdom

    Khim Horton

  5. Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom

    Charles Musselwhite

  6. Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Geeske Peeters

  7. College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge, United Kingdom

    Christina R. Victor

  8. Institute of Psychogerontology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany

    Julia Katharina Wolff

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Warner, L.M., French, D.P. (2018). Self-Efficacy and Its Sources as Determinants of Physical Activity among Older People. In: Nyman, S., et al. The Palgrave Handbook of Ageing and Physical Activity Promotion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71291-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71291-8_12

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