Attitude, Habit Strength, and the Relationship Between Intention and Leisure-Time Physical Activity Behavior Among College Students

According to the dual-process theories, many scholars proposed that physical activity behavior tends to be governed by an interplay of intentional planning and habitual action. The major purpose of this study was to determine the moderation effects of habit strength on the relationship between leisure time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) intention and behavior and the impacts of cognitive and affective attitude on PA habit strength, utilizing a latent interaction modeling approach. A total of 1803 undergraduate students completed this study. All variables were measured using validated self-report questionnaires. Structural equation modeling and Hayes' PROCESS program (model 1) were conducted to address the research questions. Habit strength significantly and positively moderated the effects of intention on leisure time MVPA behavior (β = .08, <i>p</i> < .01). The association between intention and PA behavior became stronger as habit strength increased. Affective attitude positively and significantly influenced habit strength (β = .71, <i>p</i> < .01). The effect of cognitive attitude on habit strength was significant and negative with a small effect size (β = -.08, <i>p</i> < .01). Findings indicated that habit strength positively moderated the relationship between PA intention and behavior, suggesting that stronger habit strength may amplify the association between PA intention and actual PA behavior. Affective attitude toward PA significantly influenced habit strength, whereas cognitive attitude exhibited minimal negative impact on habit strength. These findings contribute to our understanding of the interaction effects between deliberative and automatic processes in regulating PA behavior, as well as the nuanced relationship between attitude and habit development.