Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Essay Example

Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Essay Example Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Paper Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Paper This study looked at the level of physical activity (PA) in Iranian girls and the link that this has to the high rate of obesity in teenagers.   Iranian girls have a higher rate of physical inactivity because they face cultural barriers that prohibit them from exercising in public. The purpose of this study was to use social cognitive theory to test the fit and strength of barriers self-efficacy, outcome expectations, self-regulation and social support in explaining PA in female Iranian adolescents. The study found that there was a 52% chance that girls were going to be more physically active if they had a good support system. The girls that reported that they were more likely to be physically active reported that they had social support from their parents and friends. The researchers felt that the results from this study will allow for future research and interventions not only for Iranian adolescents but also for girls in similar cultural backgrounds (Taymoori et al, 2008). This article offers some very interesting findings on the link between physical inactivity and the rate of obesity among adolescents. The group that the researchers chose to look at was interesting because very little research has probed this slice of society. Iranian culture and customs do not welcome as much probing into their customs and social norms as do some sectors of society.   As interesting as the study was, it was lacking in some important aspects.   First, the study mainly focused on just Iranian adolescents girls. The study did use a screening measure that was given to both Iranian male and female students, but it would have been nice to see the researchers take the study one step further and had a second test group of a different cultural background in order to show that the results are valid across cultural boundaries. Secondly, one of the measurements that the researchers used were based solely on the log that each girl kept about her physical activity.   Unfortunately, humans are incredibly prone to sometimes exaggerate the outcome on something like a personal log or a personal diary. The researchers really had no way of knowing if the girls accurately reported the minutes that they spent in physical activity or if the girls maybe fudged a minute or two in order to make their log look good when it was turned into the researchers. This article has a wealth of information that can be used and applied to American adolescent girls.   In America, many adolescent girls do report that they have a hard time getting more physically active. Girls have a hard time with being physically fit because as a society we still hold onto some of the antiquated ideas that girls should be demure and petite.   In school, girls that like to get out and run are more often then not labeled as the â€Å"tom-boy† and can in many cases be teased by their classmates. In looking at the results of this study, programs that help girls to become more active could be designed.   Peer exercise programs where girls work with a buddy on different types of exercises would be one way to encourage more physical activity.   A second idea would be to get families more involved. Mothers and fathers could both serve as valued role models in providing both their sons and their daughters with examples of good physical fitness.   As the study results showed, girls that have the social support of both their peers and their family are more likely to be more physically active. Self-Regulation, Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations, and Social Support: Social Cognitive Theory and Nutrition Behavior In the United States there has been a rapid decline in the rate of nutrition in the last ten years.   The researchers in this study took a look at this trend and used social cognitive theory to explain how other variables, like self-regulation and self-efficacy, may be the key to integrating healthier nutrition into the U.S. lifestyle.   The study looked at 712 church goers (18% African American, 66% female, and 79% overweight or obese) from 14 churches in southwestern Virginia. The study used data from food-shopping receipts and food frequency questionnaires.   The data that was collected was on nutrition that related to social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-regulation components of social cognitive theory as well as on the fat, fiber, fruit, and vegetable content of the food that the subjects bought. The results of the study showed that participants’ age, gender, socioeconomic status, social support, self-efficacy, negative outcome expectations and self-regulation made important contributions to their nutrition behavior (Anderson et al, 2007, p. 34). The findings of this article were very interesting.   As a society, people are often affected by how the people around them eat.   Eating is a social activity; we go out to eat, we eat at celebrations, and eating has been linked to many of the rituals of our society, such as the Catholic Communion. As a social activity, the ways that people in our social group eat are often the way that we will eat.   The findings of this study pointed this out very clearly.   As interesting as this article was it did have one area in which it could be improved on. The subject pool was very narrow.   The researchers used church members from one geographical area of the U.S.   Food preferences are different in different areas of the country and so to take those findings and suggest they would work across all areas of the country is a little hard to say.   If the researchers had used the same techniques on Californian beach goers, they might have gotten a much different result. The choice of church members also was a problematic factor.   People who attend church often have a set pattern of eating. They eat chicken on Sunday after church and certain things on the other days of the week.   It would have been interesting if other sectors of the same society would have been polled and to compare those findings with the church members. The researchers also only targeted Methodist and Baptist churches.   They did not look at Catholic or any other kind of church and it would have been interesting to see if the same results would have been achieved given a different church going demographic.