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Beyond TTM and ABC: A Practice Perspective on Physical Activity Promotion for Adolescent Females from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

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posted on 2022-03-10, 16:00 authored by Ellyse Hopkins, Nicola BoltonNicola Bolton, David BrownDavid Brown, Nic Matthews, Melissa Anderson
This paper builds on a growing body of literature on the promise of practice theory in understanding and promoting behavior change in society and develops upon Blue (2017) and Spotswood et al.’s (2019) rationale for evolving theories of practice into the domain of contemporary physical activity research. We begin by considering the intersectional nature of the problem. Statistics reveal that physical activity gradients exist based on gender, as well as socio-economic position. Women, girls, and disadvantaged populations report lower levels of activity than more affluent males and females. More problematic still is what StreetGames (2017) call the “double jeopardy”, where these characteristics intersect, intensifying the negative gradient. Our argument then comprises three parts. First, we provide a critical discussion of intervention studies seeking to transform exercise behavior amongst these populations. The issue we identify is that studies typically rely on behavior change models, such as the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and the ABC framework. However, these models tend to take insufficient account of the practical and social aspects of behavior change in physical activity, and thus their subjects often succumb to value-action gaps (Shove, 2010). Second, in contrast, we propose that practice theory provides a promising alternative theoretical lens for promoting behavior change in disadvantaged and often resistant populations. Third, the paper highlights a range of conceptual considerations for exploring the relationship between young, disadvantaged women and physical activity, as well as the development of tangible solutions to improve participation

History

Published in

Societies

Publisher

MDPI

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Citation

Hopkins, E., Bolton, N., Brown, D., Matthews, N. and Anderson, M. (2020) 'Beyond TTM and ABC: A Practice Perspective on Physical Activity Promotion for Adolescent Females from Disadvantaged Backgrounds', Societies, 10(4), p.80. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc10040080

Electronic ISSN

2075-4698

Cardiff Met Affiliation

  • Cardiff School of Management
  • Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences

Cardiff Met Authors

Ellyse Hopkins Nicola Bolton David Brown Nic Matthews

Cardiff Met Research Centre/Group

  • Welsh Centre for Business and Management Research

Copyright Holder

  • © The Authors

Language

  • en

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