SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY-RELATED BEHAVIOURS AND PERCEIVED JOB COMPETENCE AMONG FIELD-BASED WORKERS IN ALEXANDRIA GOVERNORATE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL TEST OF THE INDIRECT ROLE OF SOCIO-OCCUPATIONAL ADJUSTMENT

This study examined associations among self-reported activity-related behaviours, socio-occupational adjustment, and perceived job competence among field-based workers in Alexandria Governorate, and tested a statistical indirect pathway through socio-occupational adjustment. A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design was used with a purposive sample of 377 workers aged 30–60 years from social services, health, education and training, commercial and field sales, and technical and operational occupations. The study-specific PA index combined vigorous and moderate activity, walking, step accumulation, sedentary-time reduction, and occupational exertion; it is therefore interpreted as an activity-related behaviour index rather than a standardised physical-activity-volume measure. PLS-SEM with 5,000 bootstrap resamples showed positive associations for PA→SA (β = 0.593, 95% CI [0.518, 0.661]), PA→JE (β = 0.351, 95% CI [0.274, 0.429]), and SA→JE (β = 0.601, 95% CI [0.525, 0.673]). The standardised indirect association was 0.356 (95% CI [0.299, 0.416]), while R² was 0.352 for SA and 0.735 for JE. Excluding 18 invariant response patterns and adjusting for gender, age, marital status, and occupational category produced similar coefficients. Convergent validity was satisfactory, but very high reliability, partial SA–JE discriminant-validity concerns, and same-source measurement require caution. The findings support an integrated worker-resource hypothesis for future longitudinal or experimental testing; they do not establish causal or temporal mediation.